Securing tomorrow
by Lee337
Summary: After the attack on Horizon, Ashley Williams is given a new assignment tracking down Cerberus as she deals with her feelings for Shepard.
1. Hope is hard to keep

**Securing tomorrow.**

_** Lee337**_

**Chapter 1 **

_** Hope is hard to keep**_

A ray of dull light squeezed through a tiny crack in the ceiling, reflecting off a worn, stained tiled wall into a shallow puddle on the floor, causing a glow constantly being interrupted by a loud drip seeping from the crack above, echoing around the room. A year and a half ago, the sound of dripping water would have been a source of annoyance, but for James Fale, it was now a source of comfort.

_It's raining. _

James had lost count of the time passed since he had last been out in open air. He missed the sensations the outdoors brought. The wind blowing through his hair, the warm feel of the sun on his skin. He thought of the summers he used to spend as a kid back on earth, playing in the woods. The smell of the grass, the flowers. The birds chirping as they flew swiftly through the trees.

He thought of his wife. It felt like a life time since he had last seen her, but he still remembered her face with perfect clarity. The feel of her skin on his, the smell of her hair. The sound of her silky voice comforting him. _Everything will be okay. You'll see._

He held onto this memory as tightly as he could. It was the only thing keeping him going. She probably thought he was dead. Had she moved on? Had she forgotten him?

James stood up, his limbs aching from the strain of the day. He took a couple of careful steps and stood underneath the dripping water with his mouth open wide, the water falling onto his dry tongue. It felt good.

_Not long now, _he thought. The light shining through the crack was getting brighter. _Sunrise._

Daylight hours were for working. He knew that soon there would be a crash as the bolt came out of the brackets locking the large metal door which kept him confined. The doors in this section of the building were simple in design, unlike many of the automatic four way shutters often used elsewhere.

The light had become bright enough to illuminate the room. The room looked as though it had once been used as a washroom. Rusted pipes lined the ceiling high above him. White tiles caked in blood lined the wall. The floor was a smooth concrete, slightly angled towards a small grated drain in the middle of the room. There were stains where blood had dried whilst making its way towards the drain. The blood unsettled him. It belonged to those who had resisted his captures demands. Some of it was his. Bad memories.

He stayed under the drip, collecting as much water as he could. He was given as little water as possible and always felt dehydrated. He had come to love the rain.

It wasn't long before he heard the familiar scraping of metal on metal as the deadbolt moved out of the lock position. James readied himself, as much as he could. As hard as he tried to hold on, he was slowly losing hope.

The door crashed open in the violent way it always did, creating a long echo in the tiled room.

The light from the corridor behind silhouetted the muscular person stood in the door way. James couldn't see his face, but he knew who it was. _Malek._

The figured slowly swaggered into the room, eyes focused on James with a piercing stare.

"What the hell are you looking at, human?" Malek scowled. "You humans are all the same. You think you own the galaxy. You force us to live as outcasts."

James said nothing. His Batarian captors weren't the type to be reasoned with, attempts at reason resulted at more blood stains on the tiles. He'd lost track the amount of times his nose had been broken.

Malek moved closer. He sneered.

"Not so tough now, eh?"

James kept his gazed focused on the floor. Tried to engross himself in his memories. He'd heard Drell could relive memories with perfect recall; they could lose themselves for days. He wished he could do the same.

"Pathetic." Malek mocked as he grabbed James' neck with the right of his two large hands. Batarians weren't known for their strength, but this one was different. James knew Malek could crush his throat at any time he wanted. He hadn't so far. He and the rest of his captors took too much delight torturing their human slave to kill him.

_At least so far_. James was sure that when they had finished their business, they'd kill him before they left. Whenever he heard that dead bolt move, he feared that today would be the day. Despite what he was going through, death was not a way out in his mind.

Malek gave a wry smile, and pushed him through the open doorway. James tried to keep his balance but his legs gave way. He was becoming very weak. He had no idea how long it had been since his capture. Months? Years?

The corridor was long and dimly lit, some light finding its way through the encrusted dirt on the windows, the walls in a poor state of repair. The Batarians weren't tidy.

Two guards dragged him to his feet. One pinned his arms behind his back while the other fitted a metal collar around his next. It pinched into James skin as he moved his head. The collar was attached to a chain. Malek took the end of the chain, and with a laugh led James down the corridor like a dog, towards the warehouse where he would start his work day.

He didn't know how much longer he could carry on. But he had to see his wife again.

This dream was the only thing that kept him alive. Somehow he had to get out. For her.

_Elia..._

The crates in the docking bay were filled with Red Sand, James knew. They were always sealed tightly, and never opened in his presence, but the drug was always dusted around the cracks. The operation wasn't very original, a criminal gang using a hidden base to distribute their product onto nearby planets. He expected they bribed the captains of merchant ships to deliver the unmarked goods, no questions asked. Merchant ships took a great deal of risk travelling in space and James imagined there would be more than enough willing to earn some easy credits.

Binthu was a barren, temperate world with minimal plant life located in the Yangtze cluster, part of the Voyager system. A prothean pyramid half a mile east of the building James was held in was the only noteworthy point. There were no other planets worth visiting in the system. The Yangtze cluster wasn't a place that you could expect to find merchant ships passing through. Not much chance of anybody visiting at all.

Much like every day, James was stood in amongst the dusty crates, waiting for his first job. Twice day a small cargo vessel would dock. Two Batarian guards watched with amusement as James struggled to unload the empty crates and replenish with those filled with the sand. The guards usually left him to work. They didn't display the level of violence that Malek did, for which he was glad. In his weakened state he found it difficult enough just to move.

At least the metal collar had been removed. The first week it had remained clamped around his neck, but the Batarians guards realized it was stopping him from working effectively, and had Malek remove it. They needed the job done quickly after all. A red ring of sore chaffed skin was a constant reminder.

The loading took little over an hour each time. The rest of the day was sat waiting. After the second ship had its cargo aboard, James would be moved back to his cell.

Once the loading of the first ship was over, the Batarian guards would shift their attention elsewhere, often to a game of skyllian five. Standing guard was a difficult job for the most disciplined of people, and these guards were not disciplined.

At around midday the guards would go get their lunch. For the first couple of weeks of captivity, the guards went each in turn, leaving one to look over their prisoner. It didn't take long for the monotonous job to take its toll, and the guards started eating together. This gave James an average of 15 minutes a day alone time.

On the first days, he used the time the best he could, searching around for anything he could use.

Small weapons he could conceal, a radio, even a bottle of water. The docking bay wasn't huge, but it was filled with broken crates and other scrap that the Batarians had dumped. None took it upon themselves to bury the trash, and the heap became larger each day.

About two weeks in, James found something interesting. A distress beacon. It wasn't in working order, but he knew enough to repair it.

Every day since, he had spent five minutes working on the beacon with makeshift tools he had created. He did not dare to work on it longer; he couldn't risk the Batarians discovering it.

_Today is a good day_, James thought to himself, excited. _It's going to work._ After loading up the first of the ships, James sat patiently in his usual position in the corner, where the guards could clearly see him. They left for lunch like clockwork, arguing over their last game of cards. The door slammed shut and James waited as he heard the scraping of the bolt turning in the lock. He got up and made his way across the room unsteadily to the stack of damaged crates where he kept the beacon and his tools concealed.

_It's going to work, it has to._ He inserted the power cells he had taken out of a discarded data pads and attached them to the makeshift connections. The beacon began to flash, bathing the area in a warm orange glow, announcing its presence to anyone nearby. He quickly disconnected.

_Not good_. He cursed at himself for not removing the bulb already. He proceeded as fast as he could, counting down the seconds in his head. _2 minutes gone._

The bulb unscrewed easily, and James reconnected the power. A small screen flickered to life and a logo flashed up. Cerberus. A couple of seconds later and a list of options appeared.

_3 minutes. _The menu was confusing, but he had training in their use. James navigated them as best he could. He had to set the beacon to broadcast a signal.

_4 minutes. _He was running out of time. He found the option he wanted. Selecting it opened up several sub menus. _Keep calm_ he told himself, he could feel the panic setting in, as always did. Normally he would move back to his corner with plenty of time, to be safe, but he was so close, the thought of having to wait another day spurred him on.

He turned the transmitter on and set it to broadcast from 'Cerberus channels only' to 'All channels'.

_Time's up, time to get moving. _He placed the beacon carefully into its hiding place, being careful to keep the battery connected. He hoped the battery would last long enough to reach someone and that the Batarians wouldn't detect the signal themselves.

He heard the muffled shouts of the guards. _Shit! _James used all the energy he could muster to race across to the corner he was expected to be in. A leg injury turned a run into a quick limp. He couldn't be caught elsewhere and risk raising suspicion into what he was doing, if they searched it might ruin everything. This was his only chance. As he passed the locked door the handle moved and the door started to open. He span around as he ran, throwing himself onto the floor as the Batarians walked in. They made a quick scan of the room and onto James himself. He fought with all his might to keep his breathing steady, trying to look calm. They paid little attention to him, still arguing and carried on as usual.

The signal was out there. He was enthused with a small shimmer of hope.


	2. A new assignment

**Chapter 2**

_** An new assignment  
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The text cursor was still flashing in the empty box on her screen. She'd never been shy about expressing her opinions but wasn't very good with words. Perhaps that was why she had a love for poetry. _Other people say things better than I do_, she had once said.

She sighed and lent forwards staring at the screen but unfocused, deep in thought, her elbows rested on the desk in front of her. She was sat in her private cabin. A small space, as was the case on all Alliance military vessels, but it was all hers. The plaque on the other side of the door read "Operations Chief", and she was the ranking officer on board. The chief commanded a small company of 6 marines and had been sent to investigate and prepare against a possible attack on the human colony of Horizon in the Terminus systems.

Inside the room was sparse and generic. The room was no different from the rest of the ship, cold and hard, impersonal. It was after all, a military ship, civilian comforts were deemed a waste of money. A single bed lay behind the desk the chief was sat at, cushioned with a thin firm mattress and a thin sheet. A small bag of personal belongings was at the foot of the bed; its contents spilling out added the only touch of personality to the room. She was used to it; she had served in the alliance since she was fresh out of high school. Family tradition.

_Come on!_ She knew she had to write something. The screen was still blank. _Just be honest._

She sat up straight and rested her hands on the keyboard. Paused. The words were hard to find.

_"Shepard-_

_I'm sorry for what I said back on Horizon. When I lost you two years ago, it tore me up. I prayed for you every day. I read a lot of Tennyson, thinking about you, just like I did when my dad passed. And then you came back, and it was like my prayers were answered. But I'm not who I was then, and neither are you."_

The words flowed easier now, the gates had opened. She kept writing, trying to ignore the clang of boots on the metal flooring as the crew went about their duties outside. She would be needed soon.

_Better keep it brief._

_I don't know what's true anymore. Part of me can't believe it's really you. I keep going back to that night before Ilos, our night... I haven't let myself think about those memories in over a year._

I wouldn't have expected you to work for Cerberus, but I know why they sent you to Horizon. I saw how many people were lost there, and if anyone can stop the Collectors, you can. I can't go where you're going, but I can wish you luck.

Just stay alive out there... Skipper. I don't know what the future holds, but I can't lose you a second time.

-Ash

She finished off with an excerpt from Tennyson's Ulysses, her father's favorite poem, and one she knew by heart. She was sure Shepard would understand. She heard the comms channel come to life as she moved the cursor to send. She heard the pilot's raspy voice.

"Chief Williams? Sorry to bother you, ma'am. We'll be arriving at the citidel in just under 10 minutes."

"Thanks, Alcock."

She turned back to the screen. _Better get going. _She clicked send.

The Hougoumont was a small frigate, its usual Captain and crew were putting the newest additions to the fleet through their paces before the ships would be allowed to embark on regular duties, and as such the Hougoumont was placed in the hands of Ashley Williams, along with a small crew. Ash knew almost nothing about the running of a ship and felt more like a passenger than an officer.

Ash left her room and turned left, and made the short walk into the elevator. An engineer held the doors as she approached, and saluted her. She gave a slight nod in appreciation. The doors screeched as they closed and the car began to ascend.

The engineer and Ash rode up to the command deck in silence. The engineer always felt awkward when alone with high ranking officers and Ashley was trying to steady her emotions and get herself composed.

Councilor Anderson had requested that she come to his office on the presidium. The events on Horizon were beyond anything either of them had imagined. They needed to talk.

She saw Navigator Joliet, her second in command, talking to one of the servicemen and made her way over.

"I expect you to be here as soon as possible, like everyone else. We don't do these drills for fun, marine. I won't warn you again. Am I clear?"

Jake stayed still and focused straight ahead, like he'd been taught, avoiding Joliet's piercing stare. He had been in the showers when the announcement to gear up had been voiced over the comms, and had gotten to the command deck just a little bit slower than the other five marines, but experience taught him not to argue back.

"Yes, Sir!"

The navigator shifted his gaze as he saw the commanding officer step into view. He turned and saluted, the marines followed suit.

"At ease, guys."

The seven men shifted into a relaxed pose, and waited for orders.

"I'm going ashore to meet with Captain Anderson. Wait here until I call." She turned a gestured Joliet to walk with her. They walked towards the bridge and Ash stopped in a quiet area, out of earshot of the crew.

"Keep the men ready to move," She said. "The situation is serious, if we're going to do anything about this; we're going to need a bigger ship and more men. I hope to head out again soon as. "

"Do you think the council will listen, ma'am?"

"They damn well better." Ashley sighed. "I hate politicians."

The presidium looked much the same as it had the first time she had visited two years ago as part of Commander Shepard's team. The keepers had done a remarkable job since Sovereign attacked, clearing up the place and putting everything back in the right spots.

Ashley had been there, fighting hard alongside Shepard and remembered that day well. Despite all the hardship and struggles she had faced, it was one of her fonder memories.

_Fighting alongside Shepard, kicking geth ass, what more could a girl want? _Ash almost let herself smile.

She moved along the walkway along the lakes edge towards the human embassy where she was to meet Anderson. The water looked beautiful, clean and deep blue. A couple of birds floated nearby having a drink, others were flying overhead. Ash still preferred the action of the wards to the serenity of the presidium.

A wide variety of Alien species lived in the citidel, the capital of the galaxy and where the galaxy's politics took place, at least for the council controlled regions of space.

The first time she had stepped into the citidel was also the first time seeing many of the aliens with her own eyes, and had some trouble distinguishing between the animals and aliens. She hadn't worked with aliens much before, and had only met the council species, the Asari, Turians and Salarians. She was surprised when she first heard an Elcor speak and again when meeting a preaching Hanar. She had been mistrustful at first, but had worked with several alien species to take down the rogue Spectre Saren and had become to place a lot more faith into them.

She turned right into the embassy district, past a Volus who was asking Avina where to find a shop that sold amps that were fit for a biotic god. The embassies were busy today and she squeezed past a crowd surrounding a particularly flustered looking Asari receptionist. She headed up the stairs and a short walk to the right found Andersons office.

"Williams. Come in" Councilor Anderson stood up to greet the Chief and gestured with his right hand towards the seat opposite him. Ashley walked over and they both sat down. Anderson leaned forward.

"This is bad, Williams. Real bad. I tried to warn the council, but they just won't listen."

"Like always." Ash interjected.

Anderson sat up and sighed. "True enough." He stood up and took a few steps over to the balcony and looked out over the presidium. "I thought things would be easier now that I'm on the council" he said, turning his head slightly towards Ash "But they just don't want to believe there is anything wrong. Besides, Terminus systems aren't a concern to them."

Ash knew they wouldn't listen; she had no faith in politicians. Anderson was a soldier by trade, and she respected him. He knew action was needed, not talk.

"We have to find a way to help the colonists, sir. We can't sit around and wait for the council to do something, we _need _to take action!" Williams had a hint of anger in her voice; Anderson ignored it.

"I read your report, Chief. A whole colony immobilized, including you. I'm not sure how we can an enemy like that, we need to find a way, but until we do I can't risk sending more soldiers to certain death defending colonies in the terminus. The council would never allow it anyhow."

Ashley walked over and mirrored Anderson's position, leaning on the balcony wall, looking down at the hustle and bustle below.

"Shepard found a way. Those bug things didn't attack him or his crew. He must have some technology that can help us. Sir, I… I can't believe he is alive. And working with _them_." She was still emotional .It was a lot to take in. She had seen the man she loved die two years ago suddenly waltz in to save her life, and with a team from Cerberus, a terrorist organization. How was he alive, why was he with them?

"I can't believe it either. I don't trust Cerberus, but I do trust Shepard. I have to believe if he is with them, then he is doing it for the right reasons." He turned his head and looked into her eyes. "Do you believe it is really him?"

Ash met his gaze. "I, uh… yes, I do. The fire that the Commander always had… It was still there. You can't fake that."

"I believe it too. He came here a few days ago. I reinstated his Spectre status. Mainly a symbolic gesture, but if anyone can stop the collectors, he can."

Ashley stayed silent. She wanted so much to go after Shepard, to help, but she couldn't trust Cerberus. _This is wrong._ She thought. _He should be here, working together with the Alliance._

"What's on your mind, Williams?" Anderson asked, sensing her pain.

"Why is he with them? Cerberus, I mean? If he came here already, why aren't we helping him stop the collectors instead of those terrorists? Sir."

"It's not that simple. If I had the power, I would use it, but the rest of the council doesn't trust him, even after everything he's done. They still won't see the truth of the reapers; they aren't prepared to go into the terminus systems and risk starting a war based on the word of the ghost of a dead Spectre who's working with an enemy."

"We can't just do nothing." She replied flatly.

Anderson walked back to his desk and beckoned Ash to follow him.

"We won't." He sat back down and Ash returned to the seat opposite. "We need to know how Cerberus managed to counteract the swarms you encountered on Horizon before we can fight."

"We've had barely any luck tracking down Cerberus bases, how are we going to do that?" Ash felt like they were fighting an impossible battle. Maybe if the council had put a little more trust in Shepard, he could have shared the technology himself. Now he had vanished into the terminus systems and there was little hope of finding him.

"We do have one lead." He picked up a data pad from the cutter on his desk "A merchant ship picked up a distress signal two days ago from Binthu."

"Binthu?" Ash questioned, the name sounded familiar.

"You should recognize it as the planet where you and Shepard raided a Cerberus base and found the body of Admiral Kahoku two years ago."

"We cleaned that place out. I was there."

"Still, a distress beacon was activated and the ID tag _was_ from Cerberus." Anderson handed the data pad to Ashley and let her read.

"Why was the merchant ship in that area? There are no inhabitable planets in that cluster."

"The captain of a merchant ship was talking bribes to pick up crates of something from a base on Binthu. One of the engineers discovered the distress signal and forwarded us the information. Guilty conscience perhaps, he claims he disagreed with the Captains orders but couldn't afford to lose his job. "

"What was in the crates?"

"He doesn't know, the crew was forbidden from going near them."

"You bring them in?"

"Not yet, we alerted the authorities on major hub cities, knowing the content of those containers could be useful. But we have bigger things to worry about right now." He let Ash finish reading.

"It's not a lot to go on, Captain." He may be a councilor now, but he was still the Captain to her. To her it separated it from the politicians.

"It's the only lead we have. Perhaps we missed something down there, or maybe Cerberus has returned." He looked down at the desk as he paused. He looked back at Ash and continued; "The timing is pretty coincidental. It may be connected, and if not, well there might be something useful. Maybe we'll get lucky."

"I hope so, Captain."

Anderson knew he should at least be sending a Lieutenant to do the job, but he trusted her and she was a damned good solider. _She deserves to Lieutenant_ anyway, he thought. Trust was an important issue, not many wanted to believe the threat of the reapers and he needed someone who would take it seriously.

Ash got up and turned to leave.

"One more thing," the Councillor said as he stood up to see her leave, "Good luck Chief."

"Aye aye, Captain."


	3. Preparation

**Chapter 3**

_**Preparation**_

The mass relay of the Serpent nebula set ablaze with a radiant blue light as Lance Alcock piloted the Hougoumont towards it.

Ash stood behind him as she watched the light show she had seen so many times.

"3…2….1" Lance mumbled the countdown_. He's not quite the showman Joker had been aboard the Normandy_, Ash mused.

The frigate hit the relay and an instant later shot out into the Yangtze cluster.

"You know the plan. Tell the team to meet me in the briefing room." Ash ordered.

Lance nodded as he opened the intercom and issued the orders. Ashley was already walking back towards the elevator. Joliet was waiting by the doors as Ash approached.

Joliet saluted. He didn't much care for it; he was a couple of ranks above her. Anderson had given him orders to run the ship, something Ashley had little experience with.

_Make sure she gets where she needs to go. _He had been told. _I know you are ranked above her, but I have entrusted her with this mission and I expect you to do what she asks of you._ Still, she kept out of his way and let him run the ship his way, simply giving destinations and mission orders. He could deal with the situation, so long as it wasn't for too much longer.

The doors jerked open and the two officers boarded the car. Ash reached over and pressed down one floor.

"So we're still aboard this old piece of crap." Joliet muttered.

"Yeah, you'd think we'd get a nice new shiny ship for a dangerous mission, but the guys up top don't know a spaceship from a bath tub. I guess they don't think this mission is important enough, and of course, they know best." Ash replied with a healthy dose of sarcasm.

"And what do you think? Are we wasting our time?"

"I don't know. I'm just glad to be busy."

Joliet didn't press the subject, he knew something was bothering her but he wasn't much of a people person. He knew war brought death; he had spent a lifetime avoiding developing close relationships in fear of losing friends, and was quite stuck in his ways.

The car creaked into place and the doors opened with their usual jerky motion. They turned right out into the corridor and straight ahead to the end where they found the six marines waiting around an empty table that stood in the middle of the room. They quickly stood to attention in the practiced manner that was expected of them.

"At ease."

Ash stood at the head of the table and Joliet fell in with the marines. She hadn't prepared a speech. _What to say? Start with the facts._

"Two days ago a distress signal was received from a structure on Binthu, in this system. The structure is an old Cerberus base, one that Commander Shepard cleared out two years ago, I was on his team." Ash looked at the marines. Stories of the great Commander Shepard always impressed them.

"I don't know what we will find down there, hell, I bet it'll just be some old, malfunctioning piece of crap beacon. But if Cerberus has moved back in, we need to be ready."

"Ma'am?" Raul, one of the marines to her left, interrupted

"Yeah?"

"Might not be Cerberus, you know? Could just be slavers or some shit."

"Possible, we don't know what down there."

"I'm just itching for some action!" Another piped in.

"Quiet, Jake. Let the Chief talk." Pete snapped.

Ash hadn't known them long, but she already figured they were your typical marine stereotypes.

Jake Hart, the rookie. He lacked experience and was too excited to be placed in danger and it worried Ash. She had seen too many race carelessly to their deaths.

The veterans, Pete and Raul. Experienced, hardened and cynical from constant exposure to the realities of war. They both adhered to the old military saying "Never be first, never be last and don't volunteer for anything".

Then you had Craig Grimm, the joker of the bunch despite his name suggesting otherwise. He had a rival for that title in Ben Payne, though his crude sense of humor didn't go down to well with this particular group. Payne tended to view things with a gung-ho approach.

But Ash couldn't get a read on Léon. He was slim, with dark brown hair and blue eyes that always seemed to be gazing at something far away. He was very quiet, especially for a marine. _Shy, perhaps? _He was out of place, behind the marines who had taken up places by the table and was leaning on the wall to her right. She had a bed feeling about him.

"We don't know what is down there, could be anything" Ash continued, "but whatever it is, our orders are to investigate and search for the source of the signal and whoever activated it."

"Should be easy enough. We just lock on to the signal and follow the trail." Jake said confidently.

"Signals gone dead. The engineer from the merchant ship that forwarded the signal to us said it only lasted a few minutes." Ash replied.

"Someone switched it on by accident, maybe." Hart suggested.

"Or it was a prisoner or some shit, man, got caught trying to call for help!" Raul added.

"Oh that'd be sweet, get to play the heroic savior!" Hart was getting excited.

"If it's an accident I say we blow them up anyway for wasting our time!" Payne joined in.

"Shut it, Marines!"

"Sorry Chief." The three marines apologized in unison.

Ash shook her head. _Hundreds of thousands of colonists are being abducted, and this is what I have to work with? _

"This isn't day care. You're professionals, act like it. Anyway, like I said, it doesn't matter. We go in quiet, see what's up and go from there. We'll drop in a couple clicks south from the base and hike to high ground for observation, but we'll have to be careful, there's a good chance they'll see our ship on radar. Now go and gear up."

They started filing out the room, Raul and Hart continuing their discussion from moments ago, hoping for some action. Léon waited until the rest had left, and pushed off the wall and followed behind silently.

"What's his deal?" Ash asked Joliet, as the door shut behind the silent marine.

"Who, Léon? Nobody knows, he doesn't say much. People fast tracked into marines. Must have some well-connected family, I guess. His files well classified though. But he's good in a fight, and as smart as they come. He'll make a good general one day I'd wager."

Ash shrugged. That's what she needed after all, decent effective soldiers. She was here to complete an assignment; she didn't to fix everyone's personal problems. _I hope this isn't a waste of time_, she thought as made her way back to her room to get ready.

She still used the same armor from 2 years ago. Her white and white phoenix armor bore all the scraps and scratches from long hard battles. _Shepard always did know how to find a battle_.

She had upgraded the kinetic barriers and some other minor enhancements, but refused to upgrade to a new set. It had served her well, and besides, each scrape was a reminder to be more careful.

She quickly checked over her weaponry, made sure they were clean and oiled. She knew they were, they'd been check many times during the long flights. Something to keep her mind occupied when she felt lonely. She'd served on several ships since she had lost Shepard during the collector attack, but none of them made her feel as welcome as she had been on the Normandy. She had been keeping her distance and she knew she was afraid to get close to people; she didn't want to feel that pain again.

Now that she knew Shepard was alive? What was she supposed to do? She loved him but hated that she might one day lose him again, and she couldn't take the thought of losing him twice. Her thoughts were interrupted as the comms buzzed in and Alcock announced that they were approaching the target.

_Enough feeling sorry for myself, _she thought. She holstered her weapons and packed her ammo pouches full of thermo clips.

The adrenaline was starting to kick in and she felt the nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach that she always got before a mission. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. _Relax. Time to go._

She made one more quick check to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything and headed up to the bridge.


	4. What doesn't kill you

**Chapter 4**

_**What doesn't kill you.**_

The blood flowed from his nose, trickling into his mouth, dripping from his chin, slowly recoloring his cream colored shirt and adding new stains to the floor. _So much for hope,_ he thought as he spat out some of the blood.

He knew his distress signal had been broadcast because the Batarians had picked it up, something he knew was a risk. From the small chips of conversation he had managed to overhear, he knew the signal hadn't lasted long. He had hoped that even if they had picked up the signal, he would be able to keep the location of the beacon secret long enough for rescue. But with such a short amount of broadcasting time, James had lost hope entirely.

It didn't take long for the Batarians to realize what had happened and within the hour Malek was at the door of James' cell appearing more violent than ever.

They had questioned and tortured him brutally on the subject of the distress signal. He endured the pain from Maleks fists for several hours and had, for a time, remained defiant. Another Batarian had entered the room during the interrogations and had pulled Malek out for a discussion in the hallway. It sounded like the new person was the one in charge from the tone in the voice. Large gashes on the sides of his head had caused blood to seep into his ears, interfering with his hearing but he still managed to understand some small pieces. A word here and there. Not that any of it made much sense to him.

Now, with only his underwear remaining to cover his decency, he hung with his arms chained to the wall above his head and his feet confined in crudely constructed brackets that were simply nailed the wall. He knew he was already dead. And Malek wasn't going to make it quick, he was enjoying it. James was too weak to fight back. He fantasied about freeing his legs in a surge of strength, just to give his sick torturer a kick, but there was no strength to be found. It was over.

_Just let it end, _he pleaded to whatever deity would hear him.

An hours reprieve was all he had from his almost relentless torture. Malek had made some brought makeshift instruments with him that James could only assume were designed to cause more pain. Malek laid them out on the floor so that his victim had a clear view. The large Batarian had a deep, vicious glare from fiery eyes and an excited, menacing smile. _He's looking forward to this_; James winced and tugged on the chains. He knew it was hopeless, and regretted it instantly as he saw the satisfaction on Maleks face.

"You know what this is for?" Malek was holding a plastic block with two metal prongs protruding from it, with wires connecting them to a power cell. James didn't answer.

The torturer got closer and stray strands of light illuminated his face and his dark eyes as he grinned at James. James closed his eyes, his heart was pounding.

He heard a fanatic laugh, distorted through the blood in his ears, and then a sudden crunching shock on his right hand side. His eyes were forced open as he lost control and his whole body convulsed, head shaking violently as he screamed in reaction to the excruciating pain.

Malek pulled the homemade Taser away. He wasn't going to kill him if he could help it, yet. James was still conscious, but barely. His breathing was erratic.

_Not again. Let it end. Please just let it end. _James closed his eyes. He wasn't religious, but he kept praying over and over for his final wish to be granted.

Suddenly, there was a lot of commotion in the hallways. He heard distant shouting, getting louder. The sound of panic inherent in the tone of the voices. He heard another shout, closer. Maleks voice, filled with anger.

_What's going on? _He struggled to open his eyes. His vision was blurred.

"We don't know who! It passed real close, slowed right down. They know we're here, I'm sure of it, we have to go!" He heard a new voice, a messenger?

"Coward. Telik would never run. We will stand and fight." Malek boomed. James saw the blurred silhouette of Malek turn back towards him. "Looks like our fun is over. Shame, I had so much planned."

Malek stepped up to James and sneered at him. _I'll be the last thing you ever see._

James knew this was the end. He summoned what little strength he could muster and spat a large ball of blood into the Batarians top left eye. One last act of defiance.

Malek stepped back and quickly wiped it out, cursing at the top of his voice. Fueled with rage, he lunged in and thumped the Taser into the bottom of James' rib cage. As his body violently shook he knew this was it. Malek continued to hold the Taser to his skin in his rage. James' strength was gone; he knew could take no more.

_Goodbye._

"He dead?" The Batarian who had brought the message kicked the limp body hanging from the wall. No response.

"Must be. Humans are pathetic."

"How do you even check a human for life?"

"Do I look like a damn doctor to you? He's dead, I put enough volts through him to fry an Elcor. Now let's go." Malek pushed aside the messenger as he stormed through the doorway and into the corridor.

His comrades were running around trying to prepare for battle, collecting up guns from wherever they could find them and scraping up bits of armor they had just thrown about in complacency. There was a lot of panic in their voices as they offered up opinions on the upcoming fight. There was a mix of excitement and dread. Malek didn't want deserters or cowards freezing in fear, he would need to make sure to get them in order.

Malek made his way with pace through the dark winding corridors until he reached Teliks office at the far end. A single booming voice from inside was barking orders, Malek pushed open the doors to see his boss standing in front of a group had been chosen to lead in the defense."

"Malek, so you didn't run. I began to wonder. Hurry the hell up."

Malek rushed over and stood with the group. "Is it true?" He asked, already knowing the answer and regretted speaking. Telik immediately made him feel stupid.

"You think everyone's running around preparing for fun? Yes, we picked up something on the radar. Looks like a ship on a flyby, it slowed right down. We think they were making a drop, we don't know the size. So get a damn move on and get your shit together. Then go out to reception room and form the defense. Kill anything that comes through those doors. We have snipers heading outside that will warn us, they have orders not to come back in unless told."

"Got it."

"We're not prepared for this! What if it's serious? We should just cut our losses and get out while we can." One of the chosen leaders blurted.

Telik eyed him coldly. He wasn't about to fight alongside cowards.

"Do not be a coward, Jemek. We stay and fight. We will not give in. Our species deserves better than to be an outcast race, and I will not be forced out again! We will make our stand here! We will send a message. A message that we are not to be messed with! That we are more powerful than they believe. We are strong, we are brave and we are united! We will not bow down to the whims forced upon us by the oppressors of the galaxy! We will fight, here and now! For freedom!"

Teliks speech brought forth cheers and shouts from all except from Jemek. He didn't want to die, he wasn't here to fight. He was here to get rich dealing drugs and sometimes partaking in the slave markets. This wasn't his fight.

"No! I didn't sign on for this!" Jemek panicked. "I'm getting out of here."

Telik watched as Jemek turned and quickly made for the door. He wasn't going to allow deserters. Calmly he grabbed his pistol and brought the weapon into line with the back of Jemeks head. He squeezed the trigger and Jemek shot forward, slumped down and hit the floor, an explosion of blood raining down onto his lifeless body. Everyone else stayed very still watching in terror. All except Malek, grinning psychotically.

"I have no time for cowards," he said emotionlessly. "If we leave on the ship, we will be shot down. We make our stand here. Only when we have crushed our enemy will we pack up and set up elsewhere. Now go."

He turned to Malek as the rest of the Batarians made their way out, stepping over the bloody body in the doorway and leaving to carry out their duties.

"You know what to do. Anyone else gets any ideas out bailing out on us, give them the same treatment as our good friend here got."

"Will do." Malek followed in the others footsteps and hurried to get the defenses prepared. Huge amounts of adrenaline rushing through his system. _This will be fun._


	5. Assault on the unknown

**Chapter 5**

_**Assault on the unknown**_

The terrain was familiar to the Chief as she returned to lead her men towards their target. The ground was rocky and green moss covered most of the planet. The marines were forced to use their helmets and oxygen tanks; Binthu didn't provide much for the needs of mammals. Green tinted fog clouds obscured the view, which provided convenient cover for approaching the enemy. There wasn't much time for a lengthy stake out ad they knew it was necessary move pretty quickly.

Ashley was alert, trying to see through the fog and scanning the horizon for any movement or silhouettes that would indicate enemy presence. So far nothing. She had her team in an arrow formation, each scanning their own side of the horizon depending on to which side of the arrow they belonged. Those at the back would regularly check behind. She was confident in her team and continued to focus straight ahead.

They followed the low ground and crevasses, aiming as much as possible to remain in cover. It was slow going over the uneven rocky surface, but they reached the bottom of the steep hills that surrounded the base without incident.

"I don't think anyone's here. I think we got the drop on them." Hart announced.

"Or they are just waiting. Keep focused and don't talk unless you need to. Radio silence." Ash led them into a small crater for cover and pulled up her map.

Hart resumed his silence. He felt a little stupid for speaking up, he knew the others considered him the newbie, and he wanted to prove himself. _Stop trying so hard, _he told himself.

"The entrance is just over these hills. If they know we are here then I would at the very least expect scouts." Ashley lay down the map in view of her team.

"We can't take the low ground, that's too easy to defend. We need to climb these hills and take up defensive positions. We'll split into 3 teams. Hart, Léon, you're with me. Team A will approach from here. Team B, get to 10 o' clock C, you're taking 3 o' clock. Raul, Payne you're team B. Pete, Grimm, well you can guess. Take it easy, search carefully and thoroughly for lookouts and snipers and take them out quietly. Use concussive rounds. We'll decide how to advance when we are in position." Ash was glad to see Léon still scanning for enemies. "Questions?"

"What if we are fired at?" Hart queried.

"You shoot back. What the hell did they teach you to do?"

_Keep quiet! _Hart was regretting opening his mouth yet again.

Ash couldn't burden the other teams with this rookie. She put him in her squad so she could keep an eye on him. And Léon she just didn't trust yet.

"Let's move out, people." She ordered.

Teams B and C climbed out of the crater and started circling around at a brisk pace to the positions the Chief had indicated.

The hill looked steep and very bare. It would be hard to fight if they were caught on it.

"Alright, spread out 20 paces and let's get up this mound." Ash moved forward as her squad mates put some distance between each other. The hill was slow going, though Léon seemed to move up it gracefully and twice she had to get him to stop to catch up. As they reached the brow of the hill, the three lay prone and shuffled over the top, keeping their profile to a minimum. A person on a hill can cast a clear silhouette on the sky in the background. Ash scanned the area. The base was visible, but only just, there was heavy fog here too. She remembered the base. The front entrance opened up into a short hallway that joined onto a large reception room. The large doors on the opposite side lead to a hangar designed for small craft. There were a few rooms on the ground layer, mostly showers and lockers for those returning from outside. Stairs in the center led to the underground where Cerberus' experiments to place. She knew there were two other bases like this on Binthu, but smaller. They missed out on the top floor, the main doors led straight down to a stair way. There were no docking facilities at the other two bases. Ash figured the main base would be their best bet.

She checked on her squad. On her left Hart was still, but looked alert, keeping guard whilst waiting for orders.

She was Léon slowly crawling over to an edge and peer down. She was about to speak when she saw Léon raise his weapon and fire a concussive round downwards. Then he quickly disappeared over the edge.

"Léon, report." She waited.

"Got a scout. Clean out. Hang on a second."

She waited. She continued to watch the base and check the surroundings. Just rocks and moss, as far as she could see. The base looked worn. Maybe the result of the fighting Shepard and herself had gotten into here.

A report came in from team B after about 4 minutes; they were in position. A couple of minutes after that team C reported that Pete had knocked another scout.

"They know we are coming." Pete radioed in. "I would have thought there would be more than two lookouts."

"I guess we don't know their numbers. If they only sent two scouts, there may be only a few inside." Payne said. "What species are they?"

Pete removed the helmet of the enemy he had just knocked out. "Batarians." He reported back.

"Ah, shit man. Probably just a drug trafficking operation. Waste of our time." Raul sounded a bit deflated. Drug dealers weren't something he really wanted to have to deal with, but he perked up a bit when Hart mentioned the joys of shooting them.

"If nothing else it keeps us in practice." Ash said. She had really been hoping for a break into her Cerberus investigation, but this just felt like a distraction. _I'll kick their asses for wasting my time!_

"Léon report." He still hadn't radioed back. "Damn it, what is he doing."

Ash stared to crawl over to Léon's last location.

"Sorry for the delay." Léon was back on comms. "I was…"

"Where the hell have you been?" Ash snapped.

"I'm trying to tell you… Ma'am." Ash didn't like the tone of his voice; it sounded condescending.

"I hooked in to their comms. Sounds like they know that their scouts have stopped reporting. From what I can gather, there is a large concentration of forces to the front of the building, waiting for us to come through those doors. There is another group inside the docking bay, where Team C is facing."

"Well so much for the element of surprise." She missed the Normandy a lot at that moment; its stealth systems were still unique and would have made all the difference here. "Not to worry, if they know we are coming, no point in sneaking around. We'll blast our way in, both sides. Two teams, Pete join with Raul's team. Grimm, with me. We'll move down to the base and find a suitable place to blow our way in. I think the corners of each side of the hangar are storage rooms. Go in there, and let's hope that the guy who set of the distress signal isn't in there. And make sure you don't blast your way into the hangar full of bad guys, O.K.? We'll blow the charges at the same time; they won't know which direction the blasts came from."

"Perhaps, Chief, I could provide distraction by the front doors. Lob a couple of grenades in and then I'll back off and catch up with you. Should keep a fair few of them in place while we flank them."

It sounded like a good idea. She wasn't sure if she could trust him, but gave him a chance.

"Could work, would possibly separate them and thin their numbers. Don't take too long, throw them in as soon as your hear the charges go off and come find us. But be careful, once the charges go we'll have to move quick to take advantage of the surprise. We can't wait for you. Alright guys, ready?"

The marines all confirmed they were good to go. The teams leapfrogged down the mountain, while one team mate moved the other crouched and covering the area with their rifles. They switched roles back and forth. The hill was a steep decline and the marines had a hard time getting down.

Léon stayed in place covered the area with a sniper rifle until all team members were down safe and then followed their paths. He knew there were only two scouts, he had heard on the comms.

_But no need for carelessness,_ He thought._ Better safe than sorry._

The teams moved around the building to the sides where the corridors where supposed to be. The charges were designed to breach walls; they shouldn't cause too much unwanted damage. While the charges were being set, Léon was making his way down. He approached the door. It wasn't locked. He hit the button and the doors slid open. He raised his gun and kept low, watching for enemies. _Empty._ The corridor was safe. He saw a blood trail leading through to the next room, bloody handprints decorated the walls. He moved up and took cover on the right of the door and waited for the signal.

The two teams had set the charges and moved to a safe distance.

"Everyone good to go?" Ash queried. The replies were all positive. "Alright on my mark… Now!"

The charges exploded, blowing through the walls easily, large bits of concrete were smashed inwards leaving a thick white dust lingering in the air; tiny shards of rubble rained down on the marines as they moved quickly inside.

_Now! _Léon hit the door switch and as it slid open tossed a grenade inside.

There were shouts made and he heard "Get down!" Yelled just before the explosion drowned everything else out. Léon kept in cover and he blindly lobbed another grenade in. As the grenade exploded, Léon started to move backwards to the door, keeping his weapon aimed though the gap while it closed. Once it had fully shut, he hacked the switch and disabled the door, hopefully locking them inside, at least for a short time. He turned and broke into a sprint, heading for the new entrances his team mates had just carved out of the walls.

Ash took point ducking through the hole and into the storeroom. Empty. She trained her sights on the door in front of her. Hart and Grimm followed her in, taking up places either side of the exit. Ash nodded and Grimm hit the switch. The doors opened revealing two Batarians who had no time to react before Ash had scored two clean head shots in quick succession.

Hart and Grimm took aim and fired at two Batarians running in from the next room. Grimm hit his target in the chest, the Batarian managing to send a few rounds to the roof as he collapsed on the floor.

Hart missed, barely, but was granted a second opportunity as the stunned Batarian hesitated and a well-placed shot hit him in the neck and sent him sprawling backwards.

Ash moved up and took the lead through the door. Hart immediately followed, covering the right while she took left. Hart took cover behind a crate and kept his sights trained down the corridor as Grimm moved up round the corner with Ash who was heading for the hangar.

"Approaching west side of hangar. Team B, check in." She said.

"Moving towards hangars East side" Pete replied.

"On my count, both teams go in together. Leave a man to cover the rear."

Hart stayed put as Ash and Grimm took their places by the door.

"Now!"

Ash hit the switch and moved back behind the wall as a stream of bullets whizzed through, Ashley's shields deflected a couple on target. Grimm let lose some suppressing fire, the Batarians diving back into cover. A shot from Ash landed on the shoulder of a slower enemy, who screamed in pain. A quick second shot silenced him, and before he hit the floor the Chief had her sights trained on the head of another Batarian in bad cover. She steadied her aim and squeezed the trigger, an explosion of red mist signified she hit her mark. Grimm eased up on the suppressing fire to draw the enemy out, but the gunfire from the other side of the room had them pinned down and terrified.

Ash took a quick scan of the room, a large area filled with rows of crates in the middle, an old shuttle near the large doors. The outside of the room was a bare walkway.

"Move up!" She shouted, before laying down covering fire for Grimm as he rushed forward into the room taking up cover behind more crates. Three shooters were behind the next set of containers. He kept them down as Ashley moved up to join him. On the other side of the room she saw Pete and Raul making progress.

"Cover me!" Ash vaulted the crates and quickly let off a burst of fire at an enemy breaking cover, ejecting the gun from the attackers hands and sending him back down squealing from the pain of broken fingers. Rushing forward she reached the enemies cover and took two of them out before they had any idea she was upon them, the third had just enough time to try raising his gun before Ashley smashed him in the face with the rifle butt and let off a shot between the eyes at point blank.

"Damn!" Grimm muttered to himself, as he retrained his sights on the remaining enemy near the back of the hanger.

Hart still had no contact from the corridor as the storage room doors reopened. Hart took aim. He was jumpy but kept his cool as Léon joined the fray. Hart swung is rifle back towards the corridor.

"No activity?" Léon asked, noticing the lack of bodies. The battle was still raging on in the next room but he could hear that the sounds of gunfire were thinning out as the enemy fell.

"Not yet, they must be staying put. Probably think they are better off digging in. Guess they'd change their minds if they knew it was just me here!"

"I'm going to scout ahead."

"Huh? Wait!"

Léon moved further into the corridor, a pistol pointed in the same direction. He preferred small arms in close quarters, easier to maneuver. He past several empty rooms. No enemy. Straight on led to the reception area, a staircase on his left cascaded down into the main area of the compound. That's where he needed to be. He descended underground as silently as he could. He figured that most of the defenders would be guarding the entrances, but perhaps there was something down here they would want to protect.

He passed through a door at the bottom of the stairs. Nobody there. He kept moving, keeping a low profile and his weapon raised. He checked each room he passed. This area was being used as living quarters, the same purpose they were probably used for by Cerberus. Dirty mattresses lined the sides of the rooms, clothes and other personal belongings were strewn across the floor. _Filthy_, he thought as he continued his search. It sounded like the battle upstairs and ceased for the moment, or maybe he was too far down to hear it anymore. He pressed on as quickly as he dared. A sign indicated that the door in front of him led to the science labs. He needed to go through them to the offices at the back.

He took up the usual position as the doors opened.

"You'll go no further!" A voice boomed. "Or this human dies."

Léon carefully took a look through the doorway and saw a Batarian crouched behind a chair, in which a lifeless looking man was slumped, unknowingly providing a human shield.

"He looks pretty dead already." Léon called out.

"He's still alive, but not for much longer unless you give me what I want. I am Telik, and I am to be feared! Don't try anything!"

"Here's the problem, shit for brains," he taunted as he moved out of cover and stepped into the room with his pistol lined perfectly on the Batarians head. "I don't care what happens to this man. He's not what I'm here for."

"What? You're lying. You came because of the distress signal."

"No. The ones shooting all your friends upstairs. They came for your friend here. Me? I'm here for something else."

The Batarian was worried now. _He sounds like he's telling the truth_, he thought. He began to panic.

Léon knew he needed to get the Batarians gun pointing away from his hostage. He took a chance, and aimed a little right and let a shot off. Telik panicked and turned his whole body trying to avoid the fire, his weapon following his movements and now aimed safely at a wall. Léon took the chance and his follow up shot tore into Teliks skull, liberating the hostage.

A quick check revealed that the man was still alive, but his breathing was shallow and his pulse was weak, but alive nonetheless.

He moved on towards the back of the room and found the doors into the offices. Empty.

_Looks like Telik was cowering down here alone. So much for inspirational leaders._ He heard the sound of gunfire start up again as the battle above renewed.

"Clear!" Raul announced as he reached the back of the hangar.

"Clear!" Grimm confirmed.

The two joined Pete in taking up defense of the room. Ash took a quick look inside the shuttle. Not nearly big enough to carry the entire Batarian force. Not by a long shot.

_Must have had a bigger ship drop them off. Odd that it would leave them here alone. _She moved back to her squad mates.

"How is our rear guard?" She asked over the comms.

"Nothing to report, ma'am", Payne replied.

"All quiet Chief, but Léon has gone on ahead to the reception already."

"What the hell? You two, get back to Payne and move up to the reception at the other end. Grimm, let's go." She stood up and forced a brisk pace back towards Hart. She found him waiting patiently in the same place they'd left him.

"What is he doing?" She demanded, as she continued down the corridor without pause.

"He just said he was going to scout ahead, that's it!"

Ash let out an irritated grunt and pressed forwards, past the stairway and up the reception door.

"Grimm! Go make sure nobody comes up those stairs!" She ordered. "Ready, Hart?"

He nodded as they took up their standard places by the doors.

"You guys ready?" she asked over comms.

"Whenever you are Ma'am."

"Then go!"

As the doors opened several Batarians surged through, overwhelming the two marines.

Ashley had reacted swiftly during the initial charge and had stayed on her feet, landing a blow with her rifle into an enemies head, knocking him under the feet of the charging crowd.

She swept her left hand down knocking the pistol out of another attackers hand and smashed her elbow into his ribcage. As he bent over gasping for air she took another swipe with her rifle.

Hart was knocked to the floor, his rifle swept up by the feet of an enemy. The Batarians hadn't refocused from their charge yet and Hart was able to react first. He grabbed his pistol and began firing close range into the crowd.

The initial attempt to overwhelm the marines had failed and the Batarians were trying to focus and get a shot at the humans, but the space was too tight and Ash continued to counter their attempts with vicious blows. She could hear gunfire in the reception behind, but it wasn't aimed their way.

Hart was back on his feet and had gained some space, sending bullets flying through the air and tearing down the crowd. A huge savage Batarian took two bullets in his abdomen before plowing into Hart and knocking him back down. He kicked the gun away from his feet, laughing.

Ash had now freed up some space and let lose a few bullets into the remaining foes, still struggling to gain their bearings. She took aim and fired at Harts assailant, who toke a round in the shoulder as he ducked and swung a roundhouse punch at Ashley. She moved back. Not fast enough, the punch skimmed her jaw sending sharp pains down the side of her face and sending her sprawling into the wall. Another punch came straight at her face and she had just enough time to duck. The barbarian bent over in agony as her boot thumped into the bullet wounds in his stomach, and was knocked back as a second boot found his nose. She was shocked to see him rise again. He lunged forward bringing his fist ready for another swing. A slow effort. Ash had enough time to bring her gun up and as back send a bullet through an eye and he hit the floor with a crash.

"Too close!" she panted as she focused her attention on assaulting the next room. The three members of the other team had broken in without resistance and had the last of the Batarians fighting for their lives.

Hart shook of the daze and limped over to Ashley's position. They entered the flanking the defenders, and a few shots more was all it took to end the battle.

"I think we're good Chief." Pete said as the ringing in his ears died down. "What took you so long?"

"A stampede. Rushed the door as it was opened. Guess they figured they had a better chance in close quarters." Ash rubbed her jaw. It was a bit sore, but she was O.K. "Everyone alright?"

Hart had injured his ankle when he fell, but otherwise everyone was fine, no serious injuries.

She looked around. No sign of Léon. _Must have gone downstairs._

It had been hard to find, Léon thought. A panic room hidden in the offices underground. If he hadn't known it was there, he doubted he could have found it.

He was risking breaking his cover for the contents of this room. _Whatever it is must be worth it._ He had been ordered to destroy the room and all its contents. But he knew better. This place must have information. Evidence.

The room was small, about ten foot squared, it looked like it was designed to house two people. A thick layer of heavy dust covered just about everything. It looked like plaster dust, flaking off from the badly made ceiling. The room must have been built in a rush. It was dimly lit. Two computers lay dormant, back to back on a table pressed up on the far wall.

Two perfectly made beds lay at opposite sides of the room and each wall adorned shelves lined with canned foods, which would stay fresh in case of an extended stay. The room looked almost completely unused, if not for the footprints in the dust and two chairs placed next to each other.

Léon noticed the left hand computers screen had a lot less dust on than the surroundings as if it had been cleaned more recently. He pushed the power button and the screen flickered to life. He had to hurry. He checked for information as quickly as he could, listening to the faint sounds of battle. Documents, emails, anything that he could use. He plugged in a data stick and began to download files onto it, as much as he could. He could sift through his findings later. He found nothing else of use as he waited. He realized the gunfire had stopped.

_They'll be here soon. _

Ash took point as she followed Léon's path into the underground. This was felt personal, he was reckless and that endangered others' lives, not just his own. He should have followed orders.

_I knew I couldn't trust him_.

She ordered the squad to check each room as she covered the main hallway. They found nothing of interest. They continued on.

_The science labs. This is where they conducted the experiments on the captured Rachni._ It brought back bad memories for her. They had found Admiral Kahoku in one of the other bases on this planet last time they visited, it was not a memory she was fond of.

She opened the door and trained her gun on the moving figure inside.

"Stop what you're doing Léon."

The rest of the team followed her in.

"Check the back rooms." Pete looked at her as if to say "Are you sure?"

"Now!" She ordered.

The squad headed back to carry out their orders.

"Relax, Chief" Léon said calmly.

"Don't tell me to relax." She replied firmly. "What the hell do you think you're doing? And who is this?" She gestured to the man in the chair.

"Who this is," he replied, "I have no idea. He's alive, but barely. I'd bet he's the one who activated the distress beacon. As for why I'm here? I scouted ahead a little to see if I could get any more information on our situation. I saw this ugly guy," he gestured towards Teliks body, "taking off down these stairs. He tried to use this guy as leverage for escape, or at least a human shield."

"I gave you orders."

"Yes, Ma'am. I'm sorry."

Ash sighed. "You're out, Léon. You don't follow orders and I can't trust you. I'll be reporting this when I get back."

"Of course, I understand."

He didn't seem to care. Maybe he didn't believe her? If he didn't, he soon would.

"All clear, Chief. Nothin' here. Looks like we got all the ugly bastards." Raul announced.

Ash was frustrated. Nothing she had seen led her to believe this was anything more than a drug operation. The unconscious guy in the chair was probably just a slave.

"Call the Hougoumont. Get Alcock to pick us up. And tell them we have a patient needing urgent care, they'll need to send breathing apparatus down here or he'll choke outside."

_What a waste of time,_ she thought to herself. "Let's do a quick search before we leave."

She headed back upstairs with Hart. Payne searched the bedrooms while Grimm searched the offices again.

They searched the rooms. Mostly empty, except a kitchen, so covered in grime and rotting food that Ash struggled to keep herself from vomiting.

"Oh, god. Would you look at this?" Hart said in a shocked tone. Ash followed him into the room.

A dark room with small cracks in the ceiling, blood stained walls, a pool of blood on the floor and chains hanging from the wall. In the corner was a pile of human faeces.

"A cell. Guess this is where they kept the guy we found downstairs." Ash cringed. "This is sick, even for Batarians."

"Look there." Hart pointed at the tiny cracks. "If he was kept here, he would have been exposed to outside atmosphere leaking in. Could cause all sorts of damage. Not to mention the rain, that stuff can't be good for you. "

The conversation was interrupted as Alcock announced he was landing.

"O.K, guys, let's move out." She said ordered. "I've had enough of this place."


	6. Overexposed

**Chapter 6**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Overexposed<strong>_

Ashley hated medical clinics. Everything about them seemed purposely designed to make people uncomfortable, as if to give them a reason to stay away. The plastic seat she was sat on caused her ass to fall asleep, no matter what position she took. The room itself was a sterile white waiting area and was boring her to the brink of tears. There was no music. Rustling of magazines, faint whispers and the occasional announcements from the staff was all that broke the polite silence. The only entertainment she could find was a choice between "Citidel News" and "Galaxy Entertainment" magazines. The first consisting mainly of political bullshit which just added to her frustration and the latter delved into the personal lives of stars she'd never heard of and didn't care to. She flicked through and decided neither was any better than a copy of Fornax.

The medical facilities on the Hougoumont didn't have the facilities to properly treat the still unconscious man they had found on Binthu and so she had brought him here, a medical clinic on the Citidel run by humans. Perhaps that explained the similarities in style to Earths hospitals.

The doctor who had taken the patient was running tests. Counsellor Anderson was still in a meeting with the council and Ash was forced to wait to make her report. In the meantime she felt like she had to be doing something useful, she couldn't take sitting around. Not when she knew Shepard was already out there fighting for the colonists and she was still at square one, with no idea how to proceed.

She grew impatient and headed down the bland corridors to try and acquire some news. They halls all looked the same and she felt a little lost, but eventually found the room she was looking for and took a peek through the window. It looked like the doctor was making notes, the machines were stopped and the patient was lying on an uncomfortable looking cot so she opened the door and went in. She was a ranking officer of the Alliance; she figured she could get away with the intrusion.

"Sorry to bother you Doc, just hoping to get some news."

"Ah. Well I can help you out there." The doctor lifted himself up from his comfy looking chair and walked over to the x-rays hanging on the wall.

"He's quite sick." The doctor put simply. "His lungs are severely damaged. He has hypercapnia and bronchiolitis obliterans. Some minor internal burns, electrical I believe."

The look on Ashley's face was one of confusion and she was giving him a look that said "Give it to me so I can understand".

"Simply put, he has lung disease, caused by inhalation of sulphur dioxide and I found too much carbon dioxide in his blood." He pointed to the X-rays of the patients lungs. "You can see here, scarring has occurred, it's restricting his airways. Looks like a relatively small amount of sulphur dioxide inhaled over a long period of time, I would make an educated guess at a year or so. Where did you find this man, exactly?"

"Found him on the planet; Binthu. He was being held in a building, it looked like the cell he was kept in had some small cracks in the roof so we think the outside atmosphere leaked in." _The cracks were probably caused by the canon fire from the Mako, _Ash thought to herself.

"Hmmm, Binthu, eh." The doctor moved over to his computer and started searching through information on the planet. "Binthu... Carbon dioxide atmosphere, haze of chlorine, clouds of sulphur dioxide, acidic rain. Yes, that makes sense. They must have been very small cracks in the building, he wouldn't have survived long otherwise."

"I just need to know if he'll recover." Ash stated, clearly annoyed by the medical lessons.

"We can fix the hypercapnia, which is the CO2 levels in his blood and the minor internal burns will heal. His lungs however, they are pretty badly damaged. I'm surprised he lasted this long without medical care. Must be a fighter. Honestly though, I don't know how much time he has left. Lung disease of this severity is likely to get worse, it's quite unpredictable. We'll do what we can for him though."

"Any ideas on his identity?"

"No, sorry. We could check his dental records and such if we had to, identification is a job for C-Sec. They should have his fingerprints on file"

"Any ideas if he'll wake up? I really need to ask him some questions."

"Assuming his lungs stay in a stable condition, he should wake up once we finish treatments for the carbon dioxide in his blood. He's on sedatives at the moment, we have to keep a close eye on his blood pressure. In short, he won't be leaving for quite some time, and if he wakes, he might not have his head on straight."

Ashley sighed. _I'm just having the worst of luck. Another dead end._

"Just let me know when he wakes up Doc. It's important." She headed out the room. _Sound like I should go to C-Sec,_ she thought as she started back down the maze of hallways looking for the exit.

"James Fale." A voice behind her said. She turned around.

"Léon? What are you doing here? I told you, you're out. I don't want you on my team."

"His name is James Fale, he works, that is, worked for Cerberus."

"How do you know this?"

"Not here. If you want my help, meet me on my ship. Docking bay 153-A. Ship's the Garuda. You can't miss it. You have 5 hours. And come alone. What I have to say is for your ears only."

"Like hell, if you know something, spill it. Now. That's an order."

"With all due respect Chief, I don't take orders from you." Léon turned and left.

Ash was bewildered. _Who is this guy? _She didn't know what to say. She knew he couldn't be trusted, but he knew something and she needed information desperately.

_First things first. _She made her way out of the clinic. Léon had vanished. It didn't matter; she needed to speak with the Councillor.

Ash didn't knock; any hope of her adhering to the proper etiquette had gone right out the window with the encounter with Léon.

Anderson was in a heated discussion with the council, but she didn't catch a word of what was said, the conversation stopped abruptly upon her entrance.

"Williams, what are you doing?"

"We need to talk, it's important."

Anderson turned back to the holograms of the council. "I'm sorry about this. I will have to call you back." He hung up without waiting for a response.

Ashley was pacing back and forth, trying to exercise some patience as he finished up the call but not doing too well in her endeavour.

"Williams, this isn't how we do things."

"I know Captain, I'm sorry, but..." She began. _Where do I start? _"Sir… Who the hell is Léon?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The marine in my squad, Sir! He's not who he said he was."

"What makes you say that? What happened on Binthu?"

"It was a Batarian drug operation. We went in and Léon ignored my orders and went off on his own. We found him after the battle was over, along with a dead Batarian who he says was the leader and the guy we assume sent the distress signal." She was speaking quickly and sounded stressed. "And just now, he found me in the hospital where we took the captive and he told me the guy's name was James something and I should meet him on his ship alone if I want answers."

"As far as I was aware he was just another marine. I wasn't involved in choosing the squad." He walked over to his desk and sat down in front of his computer. "Let's see."

He pulled up the files regarding the mission and found the name Léon Keane. He searched the Alliance database for his files and got a result within seconds. Ashley looked over his shoulder at the screen and saw the picture of her ex squad mate.

"That's him." She said.

"Léon Keane. Aged 27. Earthborn, Father was British, Mother was French. Joined the Armée de Terre, that's the French Army, at 16 years old and became part of the military police four years later. Saw no action in that time, by the looks of things, which explains why at aged 21 he joined up with C-Sec, and spent 5 years there. He became part of the Alliance military a year ago. Looks like he aced the exams. Nothing suspicious... except," Anderson looked closer, trying to see what had caught his eye. "Except, two years after he joined C-Sec, his records become a bit sparse, they lack the detail the rest of his career had."

"Something's been changed or left out? Maybe they made these recent assignments up and falsified his records? I know he's up to something, I feel it in my guts."

"I believe you, Williams." He pushed back from the computer and turned to face the Chief. "Was there anything useful he said, any leads at all?"

"No, like I said, just that guy we found was James something. Fale? And that he was ex-Cerberus. And that I got to meet him alone if I want to get more from him."

Anderson thought for a bit, Ashley looked at him as if she was pleading for answers. He didn't have them. Not yet. But he would.

"An ex-Cerberus employee. What was he doing on at that ruined facility? How long was he kept prisoner?"

"The doctor said he things he was there a year, at least."

"So somewhere between you and Shepard clearing that place out, and a year later, this guy returns. Léon said Ex-Cerberus? Then why was here there at all?"

Ash had no answer. She hoped it was rhetorical and that the Councillor would answer it for her. He didn't. The two sat in silence, deep in thought for a few moments.

"I couldn't say." She replied. "Must have been a good reason though."

"When are you supposed to meet Keane?" Anderson asked with a decisive tone of voice that sounded as though he had a plan.

"He said I had 5 hours. 4 and a half left now."

"Then you go to C-sec and try to get info on the man you found, see if Keane is telling the truth." Anderson pushed away from the desk and stood up, Ashley copied the motion.

"What are you going to do, sir?"

"Try and find information on Léon Keane. We don't want him holding all the cards. We'll meet back here in 3 and a half hours, then we'll go and see what he has to say together."

"He might run if he sees you coming, sir." The chief was confident she could deal with the traitor. She didn't see the need to take the risk.

"Then I'll have to make sure he doesn't. Something's up, Williams and I won't let you go in alone."

"Sir, I can –"Ash started to disagree but was interrupted.

"No arguments, I've made up my mind and we're wasting time. Let's go."


	7. A merry dance

**Chapter 7**

* * *

><p><em><strong>A merry dance<strong>_

Léon wasn't the type to be careless. He didn't like to think of it as being paranoid, just careful. And you can never be too careful, he figured.

He also knew sometimes you had to take risks, and he had taken one in the hospital earlier that day.

As much as it pained him to admit, he couldn't do this mission alone. His specialty was detective work. He was smart. He had some military training, a little time in simulations and on the ranges, but not much experience in battle. Even if he did, he was just one man; the odds were greatly against him.

He simply had no resources. He had himself, his KF Razer pistol, his credit chit and the clothes he was wearing. A grey shirt under a black jacket and matching black trousers. He kept his pistol in a holster under his jacket, concealed.

His armor was Alliance property and was locked away. The ship he once had was now back in his boss' hands and they were no longer on speaking terms, to say the least. The only people who knew of his true identity were dead.

Things were looking pretty grim, but he had purpose. He still had a job to do and he wasn't about to quit now. He'd come too far. _Way too far._

The docks were a vast place and full of hiding places if you knew where to look. Léon remained in the shadows, laying still. Movement catches the eye and so he was trying to do as little moving as possible. Lying in wait, motionless and keeping a good level of alertness was difficult over long periods of time. History was riddled with successful surprise attacks allowed by the loss of concentration by watchmen.

5 hours he had said. The time limit was not random, it was the amount of time he could trust himself to stay alert. It was a decent amount of time.

He knew that Ashley would go straight to Anderson. He figured they'd spend a couple of hours identifying the body. _Maybe they figure out who he is, maybe they don't, but sooner or later, she'll show. She needs to know more._

He couldn't have the Councilor coming along for the ride. He hoped that Ash would come alone, although realistically he was sure he'd come. Maybe they'd even send a squad and try to take him in. But he couldn't allow that to happen. He didn't know who he could trust and until he did, he had to keep what he knew secret. Hope for the best, plan for the worst, a saying which he followed.

He knew of Andersons past. He was a good soldier. But he worked for the council now. As much as he wanted to trust the man, it was too great of a risk, he wielded too much power.

He trusted Ashley Williams. She had helped stop Saren and the geth. She knew about the reapers and more importantly believed the existed. She had refused to help Shepard because of his ties with Cerberus, but he'd watched her. _She regrets it._

Ash had stayed with the Commander when they defied the council in order to get to Ilos. Léon had pinned his hopes on her. Once he met with her, he was sure she'd help.

It was a risk. But a necessary one.

* * *

><p>The elevator that rose up to the docks was a long one. Both Anderson and Ashley had been working as hard as they could and time had been tight. They had 15 minutes left to find Léon's ship, and Anderson had to get there unseen. <em>Difficult, but not impossible, <em>he figured.

He had very little luck discovering anything useful on Keane. He learned from C-Sec that he had only worked in the force for 2 years, not 5 as the written in the background check he had performed. There was a 3 year gap, but nobody had any idea where he had been. The last case he was on had been an undercover sting operation in which Léon had gone dark for several months before returning to at the last minute to stop an organized bombing of C-Sec headquarters. It had been kept quiet and Léon had vanished just days after.

He quickly ran over the story with Ashley over the sound of the latest news as the elevator rose.

"Vanished? So, he's either rogue or he went back undercover. That'd be my guess." Ash said after Anderson had finished.

"Yes, which means this meeting could go one of two very different ways. What did you learn about the patient?"

"He doesn't have a file of any kind. It's like he's a ghost."

"So you got nothing?"

"I didn't say that, Sir." She smiled. "The doctor examined the body for scars, tattoos and such that might help. No tattoos and most of the scars were new. But then he noticed a slightly lighter band of skin on his finger on the right hand. The doc suggested he was married. At first I thought it doesn't prove that because the wedding ring goes on the left hand, but I figured that checking for a marriage couldn't hurt. So I went to C-Sec and they ran a check on any married couples called Fale and got a match. James Fale, married to Elia Rapetti. An Italian women who moved to Elysium when she was a child. James was an Englishmen who moved there too, but we don't know when. James files are all still missing, so we only had Elias to work from. They got married about 3 years ago and were both on Elysium when it was attacked in the Blitz. We managed to contact her family and they sent some wedding photos. He looks much healthier in them, but you can see it is definitely him."

"Very good work Chief." Anderson looked impressed. "I'm surprised you managed all that in such a short amount of time."

"Not just a pretty face, Sir." She grinned. "I have no idea how Keane found this out, but we know he's telling the truth at least."

The elevator grinded to a halt as it reached its destination and a short sharp bell preceded the doors opening.

"True. Let's go find out what he knows."

* * *

><p>The elevator was the most obvious place to watch. It was one of only two ways into the docks, the other being to fly a ship in. Léon watched as Ashley exited the car and went in search of bay 153-A. She'd soon find it, and realize the ship wasn't his. It was a big merchant freighter and the crew was still onboard. She'd have it figured out within five minutes. The only way back down would be this elevator. There wasn't any need to follow her.<p>

He could devote his time making sure she came alone. He kept watch on the lift. There had been no new ships docking in the sector since he arrived and he knew there wouldn't be. He had chosen this sector because it was reserved for scheduled merchant ships, and he'd already checked the arrival lists. If a ship came in to dock, he could assume it to be hostile.

He figured Ashley would assume his plan would be to stay onboard the ship and simply fly away if there was trouble. It was the logical thing to do. They could lock the ship down, but that would give prior notice that something was wrong and possibly the chance to escape on a shuttle or destroy evidence.

The elevator stayed shut for a couple of minutes more. Léon saw the cameras moving, as if scanning the area. They'd been pretty still up to now. _Looking for me? _He thought. The elevator doors opened and he saw Anderson walk through casually. He was dressed in civilian clothes and he took the long route around.

People pay little attention to those who try to blend in and look like they belong. Léon sighed. A shame, but not unexpected. Logical thing to do would be to just stay hidden and let the danger pass. The elevators weren't available to him anymore. The cameras were watching and there would undoubtedly be an unfriendly reception at the bottom. If either of the officers were gone too long, backup would show up.

Any ships leaving unscheduled would be flagged down and searched.

It was worst case scenario, but he still had a plan.

* * *

><p>Ashley looked at the freighter sat in bay 153-A. <em>No way is this his ship<em>, she thought. She checked the name. The Garuda. It was the right place. _Is he really here? _She doubted it, but this was the meeting point. A couple of engineers were performing maintenance checks on one of the thrusters.

"Hey, guys?" She asked. No response. She repeated the question with a raised voice.

"Oh! Hello there!" A short haired woman in mucky overalls looked up from her work. "Alliance? Oh, well, good to meet ya, Ma'am! Ricky. We got a guest, show some manners!"

The second mechanic looked up, an older man with a bushy grey beard. "Yes, yes. Hello. I'm very busy, is there something important?"

"Come on now, Ricky! That ain't no way to welcome a guest! Geez! What's wrong with you?"

Ash was now almost certain this wasn't the ship_._ "I don't mean to be any trouble, I just need to know if a man named Léon Keane is on this ship?"

The old man piped up again "Ley on? What kinda name is that? Sounds like a girl's name."

"Oh! Don't you listen to this sour grape! It's French, Ricky! Ricky here was born on Terra Nova, he don't really care much for the cultures back on Earth."

"What? You were born there too."

"Yes, but I appreciate the finer things! Culture, theatre! You just sit at home watching that show about Asari commandos. What is it with men and Asaris? They don't even have hair!"

Ash often wondered the same question. But she didn't have time to debate. "I know, right? But I'm kind of in a hurry. So you say there's no Léon here? Or Mr. Keane perhaps?"

"No sorry honey, no one by that name here." The friendly woman replied.

"Okay, thanks. Sorry to trouble you." Ash smiled and turned back the way she came.

"Nice to meet you! Good luck finding your friend! Say goodbye, Ricky! God! You're such a stick in the mud…"

* * *

><p>Anderson watched the exchange from the cover of the entrance to the ship on the next bay down. He had circled around without seeing anybody and it was obvious that their target wasn't on the ship. So where was he?<p>

Things hadn't gone as planned. The meeting place was a dummy. Something was wrong.

He followed Ashley from a distance as she made her way back. If anything was going to happen it would be before she reached the elevator. C-Sec would inform him if they saw anything on camera. Ash turned the corner and disappeared from his view. _Not good. _He broke into a run to get her back in his sights. He turned the corner. No sign of her. _Shit! _

The councilor looked around. Where could they have gone?

A set of doors belonging to the ship on his left began to open and a shuttle hovered in the gap waiting for space to leave.

_Big mistake,_ Anderson smiled. There was no way out for Keane.

"I've got him," he spoke over the comms "He's trying to fly a shuttle out of here."

The shuttle left the hangar of the ship and started on a course headed out into space.

Anderson had expected him to land in the wards and disappear.

_Where is he going? Is he trying to get to another ship?_

"We see him councilor."

"Disable it only, we need him alive, and Chief Williams is onboard too. No casualties, understand?"

"Of course councilor. Looks like he's headed for a one of the ships waiting outside the citidel for authorization to land. He doesn't stand a chance. I guess he didn't count on us being involved." The C-Sec officer sounded like a Turian.

"I guess not." Anderson replied as he watched the shuttle vanish out of sight. It was out of his hands. He had to rely on C-Sec now.

* * *

><p>Ashley opened her eyes to find herself on a metal floor. She turned her head and looked around. Her neck felt sore. <em>I'm on a ship? My neck… <em> She felt dazed and sluggish. Her right arm was handcuffed to a pipe, her left arm was throbbing and her weapon was missing.

"You're awake. Good." Ash looked up to see Léon standing on the opposite side of the small room.

"I'm sorry I had to do it this way."

"Son of a bitch! What did you do to me?" She yelled as she tugged hard at the chains, but neither they nor the pipe was budging.

"Relax you're fine. The dart was just a tranquilizer of some kind, Salarian made. The pain in your left arm is where I injected another drug to wake you up. Salarian again. Don't worry, they assured me it's harmless."

Ash was fuming. She had a look in her eyes that said _as soon as I get free, I'm going to kill you. _She thrashed on the chains but it was wasted energy.

"They're looking for me, you know." She said, not knowing if she meant it as a threat or to reassure herself. "Where are we?"

"Still in the docks. We're in an escape pod. The owner of this ship just went out on a delivery to the ships circling the Citidel in his shuttle. These merchant ship captains will do almost anything for extra cash."

Ash glared at him. "You're not getting away with this. You know that right?"

"I just brought you here to talk, but we don't have much time. So let's get down to business, shall we?"


	8. We need to talk

**Chapter 8**

_**We need to talk.**_

_I'm not going anywhere, might as well find out what he brought me here for, _the chief figured.

"So talk."

Léon nodded. "The man we found on Binthu is, as you already know, James Fale. He was married to a girl named Elia. She was hired by Cerberus to study the effects of toxins from various poisonous creatures, like the Rachni, and try to create countermeasures, antidotes, armor upgrades and the like, for use for soldiers battling on the field. James was an Alliance soldier who was honorably discharged. Upon their employment, Cerberus erased all record of their existence. "

"Not all." Ash said knowingly, "You just have to know where to look."

Léon paused. "Am I telling you things you already know?"

"I know James and Elia were married, I've seen the wedding photos."

"Right. When Elia was hired out, James was hired as a guard in the same place. I guess they didn't want to be separated since they were newlyweds. Then you and Shepard showed up and blew the place to hell. Elia and James hid in a panic room."

"I didn't see a panic room, and I was there twice."

"No, it was very well concealed. I probably would have missed it too if I hadn't been told where to find it."

"Who told you?"

"Not important."

"I think it's pretty damn important." she said with a hint of annoyance.

"Noted." He continued "While you dealt with the Batarians, I went to find the panic room. There wasn't much inside, but there was a computer, so I copied as much as I could from the hard drive. There wasn't much of interest on it, except the within the inbox. Several messages from Elia, no outgoings. They started a year ago and were sent for a couple of months and then stopped, but the newest one is only a day old. She asks about the distress beacon, she was worried, I've got no idea how she knows. "

"She was emailing her husband?"

"Yes, but I don't think he got them. Seems that she and James were separated and she has been unable to talk. I don't understand why she would send it to Binthu, but it doesn't matter."

"What makes you think he didn't get them?"

"No responses in the outbox, and that room was unbelievably dusty, looks like it hadn't been touched for years. I figure he tried to sneak past the barbarians and got caught. But the emails are what we need. It's a load of files from Cerberus. They aren't foolproof. People are always the weak link and Cerberus is no exception. Anyway, there's a lot in the messages, but two interesting things stick out. A lot of money, and I'm talking hell of a lot, billions of creds poured into one project. The Lazarus project. Looks like a close friend or relative of Elias was working there. Not sure what it's for and unfortunately we don't have a location."

"That's not a lot of help"

"No, it's not. But her last message looked rushed, she asked about the distress beacon and she put some coordinates. I think that's where Elia is. I think the emails are evidence and she needs help. Maybe she has more information; maybe she's still inside a Cerberus facility."

"So you want my help to go get her back?"

"That and to learn anything we can. I know my skills and my limits. I can't do this alone."

"Why only me? Why am I special? What's the problem with telling the Alliance?"

"I'm searching for evidence on a theory that the Alliance has been infiltrated by Cerberus. The evidence Elia sent shows communication between someone in the Alliance and the illusive man which supports my case."

"You don't know who?"

"No, we just have the area it was sent from and it's only one side. The illusive man was more careful, we didn't get his side. It might be more than one. That's why I can't trust anyone. I'm taking a risk by trusting you. Let's call it instinct. You were part of the team that took down Saren and you've taken down Cerberus bases before. If the wrong person finds out, they can warn Cerberus and we lose any lead we might have."

"You can trust Captain Anderson. He's a good man."

"I believe you, I've read his files. But he is on the council. Could he keep this secret? "

"I think so."

"I need more than that."

"Besides, once I have the coordinates for that base, what's stopping me going it alone? I don't trust you either. What are you hiding?"

"I still have all the evidence against them and there was one more piece of information you will want. But you're not getting it until we are done."

"You could just be making that up. How do I know you have anything of value at all?"

"You don't. But can you take the risk? You have my word; you'll want to hear what I have to say."

Ash glared at him. "How did you get hold of this information? Who told you?"

"I can't tell you, it's not important anyway."

"If I do this, I need to know. That's my condition. You want my help, I need that name."

Léon considered his options. He knew how stubborn she could be. But she wasn't going to like it.

"The Illusive man" he said cautiously.

"What? You're Cerberus?" She was disgusted. She hated Cerberus, they were terrorists. And now it seemed they were everywhere. Even Shepard was with them now and it was breaking her heart. As much as she was trying to keep it together, she knew she must seem quite morose to others.

"Not exactly. I was investigating Cerberus. The Illusive man is the one who put me with the Alliance. He must have pulled strings to get me in, which adds to my theory of Cerberus agents in the Alliance."

"Son of a bitch. Why?"

"As a spy or a tool. To do things like he asked of me on Binthu."

Ash knew this chain of thought would just lead to further unproductive anger and tried to get back on track. "You said those email started a year ago. Why didn't he send someone at the time? Why wait?"

"My guess is he didn't know about them. The latest email that Elia sent was the only one he talked about and he didn't know what was on it. He wanted me to make a copy and destroy the original. I haven't given it to him. He's pretty angry." Léon gave a small smirk; the Illusive man wasn't his favorite person.

"Good. But all we really have to go on is a set of coordinates. And we don't know where they go."

"I know, it's not much. But they were sent recently and the Illusive man doesn't know about them yet. I hope. There's a chance here and we need to take it."

Suddenly the door to the room shot open and before he knew what was happening, a fist smashed Léon in the face and he was down on the ground with a gun pressed against his head.

"Sir, wait!" Ashley said rather calmly, trying to stand but finding herself still chained to the pipe.

"You got the keys for those?" He growled at as he pressed the gun a little harder.

Léon awkwardly reached in his pocked at produced the keys. Anderson took them and tossed them to Ash who unlocked her cuffs single handed. She got up and stretched.

"Are you okay?" Anderson asked with genuine concern.

"Aye, sir. Sir, there some things you need to know about." She said

"No!" cried Léon "We have to –"

"We can trust him." Ash interrupted with a raised voice. "And I sure as hell won't be sneaking around behind the Alliances back, even if what you say is true." She turned to Anderson. "Sir, we need to talk."

* * *

><p><strong>I've gotten a few comments here and there but no real constructive critics, so I'd really appriciate some, especially as this is my first story.<strong>

**Ash is supposed to be like she was on Horizon, emotional about Cerberus, but otherwise professional and to the point, lacking some of her usual humor because she is depressed about Shepards death and his return with Cerberus.**

**How are the original characters, like James and Léon?**

**Does the story make any sense? I may have over complicated things for myself with the idea, seeing as it's my first story. I'm trying to make it gradually unfold, like a detective story would. **

**Anyway, thanks for reading!**


	9. Gear up

**Chapter 9**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Gear up<strong>_

"I am Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite store on the Citidel!" the voice claimed as Ashley and Léon entered Rodam Expeditions, a weapons and travel store run by a Turian Shopkeeper. They were both wearing civilian clothes and carried only side arms.

"What the hell?" Ash looked around, her heart quickening at the sound of the man's voice whom she loved.

The Turian laughed. "Quite something isn't it? The hero of the Citidel came _here _to buy weapons for an important mission, so you can be assured that my wares are the best!"

"He was here? Did he say what he was doing?" Ash asked, trying not to sound too desperate.

"Yeah, he brought a load of upgrades just a couple of days ago. Said he was outfitting a team for a dangerous mission in the traverse, and we worked out a deal."

"That's all? Did he say where he was heading?"

"Yeah that's all, must be all top secret. Didn't say where he was going I'm afraid. Well anyway, what can I do for you?"

Ash moved on, trying to hide her emotions. "We need weapons."

"You need to make your purchases through the catalog, just over here. I'll get your gear when you have made your selection."

Ash browsed through the catalog and picked out the M-15 Vindicator assault rifle, which fired in short 3 rounds bursts and was well known for its accuracy and an M-27 Scimitar shotgun, military grade designed for rapid fire.

Léon favoured the M-96 Mattock, a semi auto weapon which suited Léon's preference for quick single shot firing. He picked the same shotgun as Ash, a backup weapon, one he wasn't fond of using and had little experience with.

The Turian shop assistant brought their things over. "Don't see many of these nowadays," he said as he handed over the Matlock. "And old model but still packs a punch. Only one in stock. Enjoy it!"

They thanked the shop keeper and made their way outside. "We still need armour." Ash said.

"How about we get something to eat, I'm starving."

"We can eat on the ship." Ash was eager to get going.

"Anderson hasn't called us back about that yet. We might as well eat while we wait. Besides, who knows what we'll even get to eat on the ship."

_I am pretty hungry. _She thought, but not wanting to admit it, as if to try and make herself look stronger than the ex-Cerberus employee. "We'll get some food after we are done getting armour."

Léon shrugged and they headed for the stairways. Two floors down they found the Sirta Foundation shop.

"I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favourite store on the Citidel!"

"Again?" Ash said with surprise. _Giving the same endorsement in each store for a discount? Sly, Shepard._

Léon laughed. "You think he'd mix it up a little. The shop keepers are bound to notice sooner or later."

"Excuse me, were you here when the Commander came in?" Ash asked the Asari behind the counter.

"Oh, yes! Two days ago. He was most pleased with his purchases."

"Did he say anything? Where he was going maybe?"

"No, nothing like that." The Asari said as she shook her head while smiling. "He just said he needed the best equipment to keep his team safe on an important mission."

"Nothing helpful." Léon remarked.

"Isn't there anything else?"

"Hmm, well there was a woman with him. She was wearing this ridiculous looking tight bodysuit. She might as well just have been walking round naked. But she said something about hurrying to see a dead reaper. Whatever that means. It caught in my mind because I thought it was a strange thing to say, I mean isn't..."

"Thanks for the info, but we're kind of in a hurry." Ash interrupted the Asari's rambling.

She proceeded to peruse the catalogue. Sirta was the company that made Ashley's white and pink phoenix armour and Léon pointed it out in the catalogue.

"It'll be just like a normal mission." He said. But Ash wasn't keen on it.

"I fancy a change." She said. "I've been through a lot in my armour. I don't want just a copy."

She picked out some medium Colossus armour; Léon went for the light version of the Mercenary style. He was an infiltrator, not a soldier. These weren't made by Sirta and there wasn't a lot of choice of different brands. The armour was refurbished; trade ins for some of Sirta's own protective gear but looked new. Ash inspected it and it looked good. They fitted the armour and left in search of a meal.

They found a Sushi stand on the same level. It was almost devoid of customers and Léon figured it would be a good place to talk in private.

"I'll have the Ramen." Léon said waiting for Ashley to reply.

"I don't know what any of this stuff is. What's wrong with good old wholesome army rations?"

"You're kidding right? They're horrid"

"No worse than this stuff, whatever it all is. Whatever, I'll just have the same."

Léon ordered two Ramen dishes and paid. They sat down on the stools on the left side of the small bar, furthest away from other ears.

"I kinda hoped we'd be taking the Hougoumont." He said quietly as he got settled. The chef was busy with making their meals and the only other customer was sat far to the right, hungrily tucking in to his meal while engrossed in reading.

"Anderson's right. If we are serious about keeping this quiet we can't go taking an Alliance ship." Ash whispered back. "It would involve too many people and if there are Cerberus agents in the Alliance, we can't trust any of them."

"True." Léon agreed. Anderson had understood what he had been told and had taken the threat seriously. He had taken Leon's own admission of being a Cerberus agent as proof enough of spies. He had suggested that they take a merchant ship for undercover and had gone about getting their transport sorted. He had also supplied them with the credits to buy the weapons and armor since taking it from the Alliance weapon stores would require signatures and paper trails. Léon was still a little apprehensive bringing Anderson onboard, but then he didn't exactly have a choice.

Their meals were ready quickly and the chef brought them over and offered drinks.

"Got any coffee?" Ash asked.

"Coffee? No, no coffee."

Ash's caffeine fix would have to wait until later. They settled for water.

"You're pretty taken by him, aren't you?" Léon pried as he scooped up some noodles and started tucking in.

"Who?"

"Come off it. You know who. Shepard. Your reactions to his voice in the shops weren't exactly subtle."

Ash started to blush but didn't say anything. She didn't feel like talking about it, especially to someone who previously worked for Cerberus.

"You were with him when he fought Saren and the Geth, you were part of his crew before he died. He must have wanted you back on his team." Léon tried probing a little further.

"What's your point?" she snapped.

"I don't get why you are chasing him down instead of working _with_ him."

"I won't work for Cerberus. Ever."

"You think the Commander would work _for _Cerberus? They might be funding him but I can't see the Commander obeying Cerberus' orders. You know what I think?"

Ash wasn't that interested and kept quiet. She knew he was about to tell her anyway.

"I think Shepard is doing the right thing. He's doing whatever it takes to save the human colonies and isn't about to let the grudges and hatred he has for Cerberus get in the way of saving lives."

"Cerberus has an angle, you can bet your ass on it."

"Oh no doubt. But the Commander, he's in it to save lives. And you can bet he'll do the right thing. Not everyone in Cerberus is evil, you know. Many of them are just normal people, trying to help and do the right thing. They're just doing their jobs."

"Oh? I saw what they were doing, what they did. How many people died because they were just doing their jobs? How many people have suffered because of them?"

"And how many people have lost their lives because of the Alliance? How many times have soldiers been sent to their deaths, knowing there's a good chance they'll die? How many innocents have died just being caught up in the fighting?"

"It's not the same!" Ash growled. "The Alliance protects people, Cerberus just experiments on them. Murders them, like they did to Kahoku. Don't you _dare_ compare them."

"Look, all I'm trying to say is Shepard wouldn't be with them their intent was to harm or kill people. Looks to me like they are backing his mission to save thousands of people. Is that not worthwhile?

While the Alliance sent just you and a very small squad to defend Horizon, Shepard was already steps ahead. If not for him, we'd be aboard the collector ship and no one would be any the wiser about the collectors. It doesn't matter what Cerberus is doing in other projects, whatever Shepard is doing is for the good of humanity. He needs people he can trust. And wasn't Garrus with him? He trusts Shepard enough to follow him, why not you? I mean, if you can't put your trust in him, you really don't deserve him."

_Don't deserve him, huh? I do trust him, don't I? It's just that I don't trust Cerberus. It's true that Shepard is probably trying to do the right thing. He saved my life on Horizon. He'll save a lot more if he stops the collectors. The council and Alliance aren't doing anything about the terminus systems. But is he really doing the right thing by working with Cerberus? What if he's wrong?_

Léon watched Ash as she sat gazing into her empty bowl, deep in thought.

"We should get back." He said.

"Huh?"

"Anderson might have something by now, we should head back."

"Yeah, good idea." They got up and walked over in silence to the nearest transit point to call a cab. Anderson was going to meet them in Flux, a club he seemed quite fond of.

Ash was still deep in thought all the way to the club.

_I don't know what to do._

Anderson was halfway through a drink when the pair arrived and sat down opposite him.

"Good news and bad news, I'm afraid." He said.

"Let's hear it, Sir" Ash replied. She couldn't see how much worse anything could get.

"Good news is, we have a ship willing to take you, no questions asked. They do a lot of work shipping simple cargo for mercenaries and that is what they believe you to be. Bad news is it doesn't have much in the way of defense, not many merchant ships really do. It's still very expensive to get adequate defenses on a vessel, but sending you on anything else may tip them off, if it is a Cerberus base."

Léon spoke up. "With any luck, they won't even bother shooting down a merchant .Might want to see what's of value instead of destroying everything." He figured it was the best plan. Anything more than a cargo ship might attract too much attention.

"Let's just hope we don't meet any damn pirates."

"Indeed." Anderson didn't like having to work this way. "I wish there was more I could do for you. I don't like this, but I just don't see any other way. All the information you'll need is on the data pad in front of you. All I can do now is wish you luck. Be careful out there."

"Thanks, Sir. I'll be careful. "Ash picked up the data pad and turned to Léon. "Let's go."


	10. Juego

**Chapter 10**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Juego<strong>_

The MSV Juego was a standard human designed Kowloon class merchant vessel. Three interchangeable compartments were fitted into the main structure. They had large square shaped floors and were barely 20ft in height, giving the ship a bulky flat look.

It worried Ash that they were going into unknown territory in this ship, slow and defenceless. _Not good._

As Ash and Léon reluctantly approached the entrance doors hissed open and a Salarian walked through.

"Welcome, welcome! You must be our passengers. Pleasure. You can call me Veloce. I'm the captain. Come, come!" He gestured for them to follow.

_A Salarian? On a human made vessel?_ Ash kept her thoughts to herself as the two humans followed the Captain inside the ship. The doors closed behind them as they entered the airlock and the decontamination system sprung into life.

"Sorry about this." Veloce said as the machines did their job. "Must be done. Still, very slow."

Ash noticed Veloce looked very impatient, as if he viewed the process as a drain on his life. Which to him, it probably was.

The inner doors opened as the machines finished cleansing, and the three walked inside.

"Crew quarters are at back of ship. We have spare beds. Come, come." Veloce hurried along. Ash wasn't sure if this was just him being himself or if he was in a major hurry.

They turned right towards the rear of the vessel and passed through into the first compartment.

Ash saw that a whole range of species were at work inside. More Salarians looked busy with paperwork, hurrying around checking the crates. The crates were being moved around by a group of Turians and Humans who looked like they were having a hard time avoiding the Salarians who rushed around as if they had no time to worry about safety. A group of Salarians and Asari were scanning crates with their Omni tools. Looking for dangerous materials, Ash guessed. She counted four armed guards. Three Krogan and a Turian. _Mercenaries, _Ash figured.

"A varied crew." Léon pointed out. "Didn't figure aliens would be using human built ships."

"Not the best designed ship. Can't afford a new ship myself." Veloce replied. "Won this from the old Captain. He liked to gamble. Big mistake."

The crew paid no attention as the new guests made their way through the room and into the next container. They passed through two more storage containers, both of which were very similar to the first, and they entered the rear of the ship into a hallway that branched out into three small rooms all containing bunk beds. The Captain led them into the room straight ahead and pointed to a bunk that looked freshly made.

"You'll sleep here. No private quarters, sorry, no room." Veloce said.

Ash shrugged. "You know where we are headed?"

"We're delivering cargo to Watson, in Sigurd's cradle. Was told your destination very close to there. No specifics."

"I'll give you the exact co-ordinates when we get much closer. No offense, we just have to be very careful." Ash said as the Salarian gave her an untrusting glace.

"Credits are credits." Veloce shrugged, as he started towards the door. "Must go, very busy."

Léon looked around. "It's nice." He said with a hint of sarcasm as he sat down onto the bottom bunk. "Any preference?"

"I'm fine on top." She removed her weapons and placed them at the foot of the bed.

"We should rest up while we can." He said as he followed suit. He saw Ash looked tired and wondered when she had last slept.

"Yeah." Ash began to strip off her armour. She took off her gauntlets and shoulder pads first and placed them on the floor. Her chest piece came off next, leaving her standing in a tight vest top. Normally she'd have been wearing her blue alliance uniform underneath, but they would have given her identity away as a marine, so she was wearing casual clothes. As she placed the armour with the rest she caught Léon staring. "Hey, get your tongue off the floor will you?"

Léon lay down on his bed and gazed at the mattress above, feeling slightly embarrassed. He saw her remove her leg protection out of the corner of his eye before sliding the armour under the bed and disappearing as she pulled herself up onto her bunk.

Ash grabbed her pistol and placed it under the pillow. _Just in case. _She closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.

Léon stripped down to the same black outfit he had been wearing earlier. It was all he had. He removed his jacket and slid it under the bed with the rest of the belongings, and then he too laid back and drifted off.

Ash woke up as she felt the presence of people entering the room. She opened her eyes and watched as several Asari and a couple of human women undressed ready for bed.

"Sorry, I did not mean to wake you." An Asari stood by the closest bunk said as she noticed Ash was awake.

The two human girls looked uneasy in their underwear as they noticed Léon asleep in the bottom bunk. The Asari didn't seem bothered at all by the male presence. Léon appeared to be in a deep sleep and didn't move as the crew climbed into bed.

"Guess there's no room in the male quarters." One of the girls said sounding a little frustrated.

"Sorry. This is where we were told to stay." Ash replied.

"It is quite alright." The Asari in the next bed whispered. "We are used to having guests travel with us, but usually they are separated into different rooms depending on their gender. But Veloce hired double the amount of Mercenaries for this trip. I guess he is nervous of you both."

"We don't mean to cause trouble." Ash laid back down. She was used to living in small living spaces shared between both sexes on the Military ships. Every bed was normally filled, and there was never an equal amount of both genders. There just wasn't enough space to separate the two. This was a civilian ship however; the crew would normally enjoy those types of luxuries. Almost instantly, she fell back to sleep.

Léon awoke with after several hours. Everyone else was still asleep. He swung his legs out if bed and planted his feet on the floor. He sat for a moment as he let himself focus. He got out of bed and left the room quietly. The ship felt quiet except for the sound of the drive core and life support groaning away. He made his way through the compartments towards the cockpit. Several guards were still awake, watching him closely as he passed.

He entered the front section of the ship and peaked into the cockpit. They were already in the Skepsis system headed towards Watson, the third planet from the sun and the location of the coordinates he'd found in Elias emails.

He found Veloce and the rest of the Salarians in a room next to the cockpit.

"You guys don't sleep?" He said as he entered, all eyes set in his direction.

"We have slept. We Salarians only need a very short time of rest. Do you need something" Veloce enquired.

"Just looking around. Didn't want to disturb my roommates."

"Hmm. Rather you kept to your quarters. Don't like having unknown passengers on board. Need the money, but risky."

"I understand. Where can I get some breakfast?"

"Later. Will bring to you in quarters." Veloce sounded agitated, and a little nervous.

"Alright. Sorry to bother you." Léon walked back towards his room. He was glad that the trip was short; he wasn't too keen on spending too much time in those cramped conditions. _Although the roommates sure makes up for it_. He grinned at the thought. Like many men, he found the Asari attractive, but not as much as the humans occupying the bunks opposite. He had woken up when the crew had entered for bed, but he had kept still and felt a bit perverted as he watched the girls undress. He knew he shouldn't, but it was hard not to.

The doors to the rear section opened and Léon met Ashley who was stood in the hallway, still dressed in her tight top and leggings.

"Where've you been?" She asked.

"Just for a wonder around. But the Captain wasn't too fond of that."

"Hardly surprising. And my face is up here." She said, directing his gaze away from her body.

Léon moved his eyes up, trying to hide a smile. "We're not too far off now, anyway."

"We should check our equipment." Ash said as she led the way back into the quarters, getting the feeling that Leon's gaze was burning on her behind. She rolled her eyes.

They checked their weapons and armour thoroughly and they were both back in their armour and kitted up by the time a Turian came in to deliver a message.

"Captain says we're setting down to make delivery. He's asking to see you."

"Alright." Ash turned to Léon. "Let's go, Perv."

The Turian led them through the storage areas, once again filled with the crew going about their business. Veloce was in the cockpit, looking over the Salarian pilots shoulder. He turned as he heard the humans approach.

"We are docking to unload in a few minutes. Where do you need to go?"

Ash handed over the data pad displaying the co-ordinates.

"Hmmm." Veloce entered the coordinates into the map. "Other side of planet. Not much in area. Tree's mostly. No known settlements. Strange place to go."

"It's the co-ordinates we were given. Something has to be there." Léon insisted.

"Unable to land in area. Will have to dock here, in this colony." Veloce pointed at a settlement a few miles away. "We will wait here for a day as agreed, then we will have to go. Can't afford to wait longer. Time is money."

"It'll have to do. Wildlife looks thick." Ash said as they approached to land, relived that they had made it here without any trouble. She looked at Léon. "Hope you're ready for a hike."


	11. Into the bushes

**Chapter 11**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Into the bushes<strong>_

The vegetation was not unlike Earths rainforests, thick and tangled. Strays stands of light shone down though the gaps in the leaves, causing spots of illumination on the forest floor in an otherwise shaded area. It was humid, the tree canopies trapping the heat. As the two humans hacked their way through they saw many kinds of mammals of which they'd never seen before. Some resembled mammals from Earth, others were entirely different, but none of them looked threatening and they kept their distance, watching the visitors to their home carving their pathways.

The chief's armour made it difficult for her to move, but she consoled herself knowing that the thin branches wouldn't stop bullets. She glanced at Léon, who was having a much easier time in his lighter armour. He was considerably more agile than she was too, moving around almost as if the branches weren't there.

The local wildlife was loud, the birds singing, the mammals chattering away and the rustling of the them scattering everywhere covered the sound of the soldiers advance. The Juego's scans of the area had picked nothing up, the heat signatures of the area provided no information and the trees blocked any hope of visual sight. But the only lead available was these co-ordinates, so they pressed forwards.

Léon's advantages through the forest gave him a small lead in front. Ashley didn't mind, it was easier for her to follow his path. Besides, she could keep an eye on him in front, and he wouldn't be distracted by her behind. Eventually he crouched, held his hand up clenched into a fist and stopped. Ash carefully moved up beside him. They had reached the spot that the co-ordinates designated. There was a small clearing and a small wooden hut.

"I guess it's not a Cerberus base." Ash whispered.

Léon studied the area closely but saw nothing. "Guess not." He moved forward slowly with his gun trained towards the poorly built structure. Ash stayed put, covering his advance and also, as she reasoned, because she didn't trust him. She wanted him where she could see him. She moved up as he got closer and joined him by the door, which was in a sorry state, hanging at an angle from hinges made from thin rotting vines.

They glanced at each other and nodded, Ash pulling the door clean off as she attempted to open it quickly, Léon quickly moved in through the hole and pointed his gun at a surprised looking figure shadowed in the corner looking as he looked around for other targets. None. Ash followed immediately after and also had her gun aimed at the figure. The whole operation had taken less than two seconds to complete and the person in the corner hadn't had time to react, and now knew she there wouldn't be any chance to.

Léon moved closer.

"Is it her?" Ash asked.

The figure in the corner was a frail looking women, not old but worn, as if she'd been through a lot in a short time and had aged because of it. Her face was smeared with dirt which had stained her skin. She was wearing tattered dirty clothes and her blonde hair was long, greasy and tangled.

"Elia?" Léon asked, lowering his weapon.

The woman's mouth was ajar, her eyes wide. "You know… who are you?"

"My name is Léon Keane, this is Ashley Williams. We're here to help. We were led here by James Fale."

"James is… he's alright?"

Léon crouched down next to her. "He's alive, Mrs Fale, but he isn't able to be here right now."

"Why? What's wrong?" Elia looked understandably worried and Léon figured that lying to her wouldn't help their cause.

"He's in hospital." The words caused obvious pain to Elia. It wasn't going to get any better. "Best we can figure, he was on his was to retrieve the emails you sent him, but Batarian drug dealers had locked the place down. He was captured. We recently rescued him, we guess he'd been there the whole year. But he isn't well, Elia. He's was still unconscious yesterday." He saw the panic in her eyes. "He's still stable. We are optimistic he'll wake up soon."

"I want to see him. Bring me to him."

Ash wondered if she'd make the hike back. "You're okay to walk? Our ship is a fair trek back."

"Of course I am!" she snapped, as she tried to stand. She looked unstable and weak.

"You need to eat something." Ash pulled out her rations from her webbing and passed them to her.

"I'm fine!" She exclaimed; she obviously had nothing on her mind except getting to James.

"No, you're not. You need to eat. I'm not taking you anywhere until you do."

"But I…" She began, but gave her objections up. She was starving.

"What have you been eating out here?" Léon asked.

"If I'm lucky, I catch an animal in my traps. They're a bit funny tasting." She said as she slowly tucked into the army rations which were infamous for their poor flavour.

"How long have you been out here?" Ashley enquired.

"About a year, give or take."

Ash kept probing for information, Elia wasn't very talkative. "Why are you here?"

"I had to escape. I had to. It was wrong. I had to stop it. But I couldn't, not alone, I had to hide here, they are after me."

"You mean Cerberus?"

Elia started to become suspicious. Too many questions from people she didn't know.

"It's okay, ma'am. I'm with the Alliance. Operations Chief Ashley Williams. I was with Commander Shepard when we took down Saren."

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "Commander Shepard! I heard about the attack on the Citadel. I am not surprised it was him who saved it." She was smiling as she spoke. "I met him once, you know."

"He really gets around." Léon remarked.

"You met him? Where?" Ashley asked.

"Oh, it was back in '76 on Elysium. I was 17."

Léon quickly worked out that she was now just 26, at least 10 years younger than he would have guessed from the way she looked now.

"You were there during the Blitz?" Ash asked.

"Yes, I grew up on Elysium. I was born on Earth, in Italy but my family and I all moved to Elysium when I was about 7. I was right there in the middle of it all when the Batarians landed. I remember, I was so scared, I just froze. There were bullets flying towards me but I couldn't move. I thought for sure I was going to die. But then I found myself being swept away. The Commander had thrown himself in front of me and whisked me to safety in his arms. He took care of the Batarians around me and told me I should find a safe place to hide and that he had to go help other people. He was so charismatic, so courageous. I tried to say thank you, I was still overwhelmed, I don't think I really managed to get my words out properly, but he smiled at me and said "I should go." That was the last I saw of my hero."

Ash smiled. _That sounds like my skipper._ "He's one in a million, that's for sure."

They were silent as they allowed Elia to eat. She forest outside was still as noisy as ever.

"Elia," Léon said eventually. "We need information to use against Cerberus. We have your emails that you sent to James. Is there anything else you can tell us that might help?"

Elia paused, wondering if she should trust the two armed people in her hut. "Yes. I know quite a bit. That is why I am hiding here, Cerberus found out I knew too much. But… I need to see James first. Take me to James."

Léon looked at Ash and shrugged. "We should get a doctor to look at her anyway. Two birds with one stone."

Ash nodded. "Are you okay to walk, Elia?"

Elia stood up. She looked a lot steadier now, and wasn't shaking as much. "I think I will be okay."

"We have plenty of time." Léon pointed out. "We still have 21 hours before our ride leaves."

"I think we'll make it." Ash walked over and helped Elia walk. "Léon, we'll follow you. Take it easy."

The three of them walked out of the rickety hut and Léon took the lead. They entered the thick shrub and followed the path that they had cut through on the way there. Elia was struggling, but not as much as Ashley had thought she would. And she had a brave face on. Determined. _She must be thinking of James_, Ash figured.

Halfway back, they stopped for a rest. Léon kept watch, instinct told him not to let his guard down. Ash sat Elia and gave her some water from her canteen.

"Just five minutes, and I'll be okay." Elia said.

"No rush. When you're ready." Ash looked over at Léon. He looked edgy.

"Léon?" She called.

He put his finger to his lips, warning her to be quiet. _Shit. _He thought. He moved back over to the women. "We got company."

Ash jumped up. "Who? Cerberus?"

"Looks like it, and they're almost on us. Get Elia to safety, I will hold them here."

"How many?"

"A lot, we don't have time. Get her out of here."

"We should set an ambush or hide…"

"No time Ash!" He interrupted. Get her out of here. Head east and avoid them. I'll lure them this way and meet back with you. I can move faster than you can with Elia, I'll give you time to escape."

_Shit._ Though Ash. She wanted to stay, to take Cerberus on head to head, but she knew she couldn't, she needed to get Elia to safety.

"Elia, let's go, quickly!" She helped her up and moved as quickly as she could east.

Léon moved west and took up cover behind a large trunk and kept low.

Ash stopped and threw Elia into a ditch as she dived onto the dirt floor behind a fallen tree. Two soldiers open fired. Ash waited for a break in fire and quickly popped up, firing a few round at the enemy and hitting one of them several times, breaking through his shields and ripping through his chest. As the enemy fell, the other moved for cover. Ash took the chance and fired again, hitting her target in the shoulder but her shots were deflected by the kinetic barriers in his armour.

Léon heard the fire. He knew he had to draw them away, even if it was only splitting the force. He grabbed his rifle and fired in the enemy's direction.

Ash rolled to her side and yelled at Elia to keep down. She heard firing from the west and knew that Léon was at least keeping his word. The change of position gave her a new firing angle at her enemy and with a careful aim she shot a burst into the side of his head. His shields were already down and the metal shards tore through his skull. She made a quick check and got up, keeping low moved back to Elia, and the two women moved farther away. Ash kept checking behind as they ran as fast as they could through the thick vegetation.

The gunfire had attracted the enemy in Léon's direction. He waited for the enemy to close in. He had his weapons in front of him; he figured he didn't want to waste time reaching for them later.

The enemy was keeping to cover as much as possible as they advanced. Léon saw they were trying to flank him. He saw a soldier moving to his right and took the shot without hesitating. The Matlock he was using was a powerful single shot rifle. His first shot took town the shields, his second smashed through the man's chest propelling him backwards crashing into the floor. The rest of them scattered for cover. They were in a wide arc from his position and far enough away. He would have to watch them carefully so he didn't get flanked. He quickly crawled into a new position. The enemy were trying to advance again, this time they lay covering fire down, but it was random. They had no idea where he was. The gunfire also served as a mask for the sound of his own shots. He took aim at another foe and quickly dispatched him. The gunfire stopped as they tried to listen for the direction of Léon's fire, and then continued, still scattered.

A bullet flew into Ash's shields, deflecting off. The two women threw themselves onto the floor and Ash fired retaliatory rounds. She missed but she saw several men diving out of the way. She moved behind a tree and gestured Elia to move behind another. She would have to be more careful, the deflected round from her shield could easily deflect into Elia, who had no protection at all. She fired at two hostiles as they appeared. More were coming. She had to get Elia out.

"Léon?" She said over comms. "We're pinned down."

Léon heard her voice. "Hold on." He replied. He knew he had to go on the offensive or they would overwhelm the women. He picked up his shotgun and pistol and holstered them before he fired at an enemy who leaned out of cover scanning the area. As the foe fell down lifeless, Léon made a dash to his left and then moved as quickly as he dared towards the enemy. He saw a large group of them moving forwards through the trees, focused to the south where Léon had moved from. He backed away and headed east, following the women and their pursuers. He was in-between the two groups. They had no idea where he was but he would have a hard time once he opened fire again. He'd be caught between two sides, but there wasn't a lot he could do in the time he had. He had been fortunate so far that the opposition seemed like amateurs.

Ash kept up the pressure. She knew she couldn't escape with Elia with her, the woman simply couldn't move fast enough. She was still too weak. She felled another hostile who clumsily tried to advance. She took another two down as they leant out of cover, but they knew where she was and were moving closer as they pinned her down with fire.

Léon quickly caught up to the soldiers attacking his allies. He got as close as he could. The enemy were in open view from his side. He counted twelve. _Here goes,_ he thought. He made a note of the enemies positions and double tapped his Matlock at the first one, changing to the next target as quickly and smoothly as was able, sending a couple of shots at the new figure in his sights. He moved from target to target, sending two rounds ripping through the foliage at each foe. The enemy was confused and he managed to overheat his weapon before they started to scatter in panic. He counted 5 down out of the 8 he fired at; the other three looked injured but were standing.

Ash heard the distinct fire of Léon's weapon and soon after the enemy broke cover in panic. Ash didn't hesitate, firing a couple bursts from her M-15 towards and foolish enough to stray into her sight, and watching as her bullets overloaded their shields and tore through their armour. The enemies were trapped in the middle of two well-trained soldiers, and were panicking. She saw only one left standing and fired a burst which deflected away from his chest, before his head exploded as a result of a round from the opposite direction.

"Get going!" Léon ordered over comms, and Ash wasn't going to argue. She made sure Elia was unharmed and the two began moving as fast as they could through the thick trees. It was slow going as it had been before, Elia was struggling but she forced herself onwards.

Léon heard the approach of the second group of enemies and moved north to take cover. He fired as soon as he saw them, trying to keep them at bay long enough for the girls to get away.

The force he was facing was largely untrained, which was lucky for him. He doubted he would still be alive if the enemy was more competent. A couple of shots later and another man lay dead in the dirt. The hostile force looked like it had lost the will to fight; half of their unit had already been wiped out. Léon kept up the pressure, moving from cover to cover; hoping to give the illusion there was more than one person fighting them.

Ash and Elia finally made it out of the forest, and into the colony. She could already see the merchant ship Juego was missing. There was a new ship in its place. She cursed under her breath.

"Léon, we're at the colony. You alright?" There was no reply. She didn't hold out much hope, but wasn't about to give up on him just yet.

She escorted Elia through the colony towards the docking area. It was a small colony and it didn't take long to reach the new ship. It was a small frigate. There were no docking facilities, just a large cleared area paved with concrete. Two armed guards stood in the entrance, looking nervous, dressed in the same way the soldier had been. _Cerberus. Looks like the merchants sold us out._

They needed a new ship, and this one was as good as any.

She moved Elia into a hidden shady corner. "Wait here. I need to clear the ship."

She circled around the buildings and approached the ship from the blind side. She moved up to the side wall of the entrance of the Cerberus vessel and switched to her rapid fire shotgun. It'd overheat easily, but she didn't plan on having to make many shots.

She swung her aim around the corner keeping her body behind the wall as much as possible. See let of a blast which hammered into her first victim ripping straight through his shields, pulling him off his feet and ploughing into the doors behind. The other guy turned to look at his colleague and was hit by Ash's second blast sending him flying into the corner.

She pressed the button to open the doors and backed away to cover. The next part would be tricky, going through the airlock, but she hoped the resistance inside would be minimal. Frigates are small ships, and she'd already met a large force in the forest.

"Williams!"

Ash span around to find Léon approaching.

"Did you take them all down?" She asked.

"No, most of them fled. They're bound to be making their way back here though, so let's take the ship quickly."

She nodded and they entered into the decontamination area. Léon hacked the control panel and overrode the sequence so the enemy wouldn't be alerted if they didn't know already.

They kept low as Ash pressed the button for the doors, which slid open.

Nobody.

They moved out onto the command deck. Ash saw a couple of crew who reached for their weapons.

"Don't move!" Ash yelled, but they ignored her. Ash planted two bullets into their heads in quick succession.

Léon faced right, there was nobody there. They headed up towards the pilot. He was unarmed and scared.

"Don't shoot!" He cried.

"Don't do anything stupid and maybe you'll live." Ash said aggressively.

"I'll check the rest of the ship." Léon said.

"I need to go get Elia." Ash said, as she moved the pilot away from the controls and tied his hands to a pipe near the exit.

Léon nodded. "Be careful, we don't know if the rest are nearby."

Ash left the ship the same way she came and scanned the area. Nothing yet. She ran back as fast as she could towards the place she left Elia. She was still there, waiting. Ash let out a sigh of relief.

"Come on, let's go. There isn't much time." She helped the girl up and headed back towards the ship. She glanced over her shoulder in time to see the enemy emerging from the tree line.

"We got company! Come on Elia, give it everything you've got!"

Elia pushed herself into a run and the two made for the Cerberus vessel.

"Léon!" She yelled over the comms "Get that pilot back into place and get us the hell out of here! We've got incoming!"

"Alright, I'm on it."

Bullets smashed into the entrance walls as the two women sprinted through. Ash waited for a break and returned fire, slowing their advance. Elia was sat on the corner catching her breath, feeling very dizzy. The world was spinning for her and she collapsed on the floor unconscious.

_Shit! _Ashley thought as she kept the fire up waiting for Léon.

"Alright, he's in place, hold them off a couple more minutes."

"Hurry up dammit! We might not have a couple minutes." She saw the soldiers spreading out. The cover she had would be lost within a few more seconds. She smashed the button to open the door and dragged Elia through the opening as the door raised. A bullet hit the shields on her leg and ricocheted into the ceiling.

"Get us out of here Léon!" She yelled as she closed the door behind her. She could hear the impact of the bullets hitting the door. She pulled Elia through the inner doors onto the command deck and joined Léon in the cockpit.

"We don't take off before they get here, the first bullet goes through your head." Ash screamed at the pilot who was already panicking and working as fast as he could. The ship lifted off the ground and edged forwards. Ash moved back to the entrance and saw the outer doors opening. She fired through the gap, knocking an enemy down and sending the rest into cover.

"Let's go! Move it!" She felt the ship gain momentum and both sets of doors locked shut. She sighed in relief, the ship shot up through the atmosphere.

She moved back to the command deck and checked on Elia. She was alive, but exhausted. She was awake, if barely. Ashley gave her more water and left her with the canteen.

"Is the ship safe?" She called to Léon.

"Not sure, didn't get a chance to check it all. The pilot assures me it's empty, but I have my doubts."

"Seal this deck and open the airlocks. Just to be safe." Ash pointed her pistol at the pilots head.

"Okay, okay!" He did as he was told. He waited for a minute before sealing them again. "Happy?"

"So, Cerberus?" Léon inquired.

"Look, I don't know anything, I'm just the pilot."

"Let's interrogate him after we get back to the Citadel. Watch him, make sure he doesn't try anything." Ash said as she pulled Elia to her feet and got her seated. "You alright?"

Elia nodded. "That sure was close."

"Oh that was nothing. I've been in worse scrapes!" Ash said reassuringly. "And you're forgetting Elysium"

"Well it looks like I have three heroes now." Elias smiled at Ashley. "Thank you both."

Ash watched her as she laid back and drifted off to sleep and smiled to herself. She saw Léon alert in the cockpit and figured it would be a good time to rest.

"Léon, I'm going to rest up. Wake me up if you need me, otherwise we'll switch in say, four hours?"

"Fine by me."

Ash sat down in the seat next to Elia. It was a nice comfy chair, unlike those in an Alliance vessel. She closed her eyes.


	12. Theft

**Chapter 12**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Theft<strong>_

"Here." Anderson passed a cool glass of water to Elia as Doctor Michel continued to examine her. Ash and Léon sat on an empty bed waiting. They wanted to question her as soon as she was ready.

"Thank you." Elia forced a smile. She was anxious to see James, and besides, she was feeling a lot better after a good meal, although she had struggled with it and half of the food still remained on her plate.

Anderson gave the Doctor a querying look.

"She'll be okay," Michel responded. "She just needs to eat properly to regain her strength and to take it easy until then. There's no long term damage."

"Good, now can you please take me to see James?" See said looking towards Ashley.

Ash stood up, frustrated. She wanted answers. "He's over in the larger medical clinic on the next arm over." She turned and looked at Anderson. "We good, Sir?"

"Yes, Williams. I'll be along shortly. I have business with our friend here." He said gesturing towards Léon.

Ash nodded and helped Elia to stand. She was still uneasy on her feet but already showing a vast improvement. The two women walked out of the clinic doors in search of a cab.

Léon walked over to Anderson. "I guess you want the evidence now."

"We upheld our end of the deal. Now it is time for you to uphold yours."

Léon nodded. "I gave you my word." The walked towards the back of the clinic, out of earshot of the Doctor. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a data card.

"You had it with you this whole time?"

"I have nowhere safer to hide it. I just took a risk and hoped you would search me too thoroughly." Léon grinned. "The data pad contains everything Elia sent to James. There's a lot on there, it should help with tracking down their suppliers at the very least. There's also a couple of names mentioned; officers in the Alliance." Léon handed over the card.

"What was the other information you told us you had?"

"Right. It's about Commander Shepard, and how he was revived. The Lazarus project." He paused and examined Anderson for signs that he recognised the name, but there were none.

"Go on." Anderson said.

"Elia had a brother. His name was Wilson. Looks like they found a way to talk to each other during Elias stay on Binthu. There are several emails from him. The emails between them are few and vague, but they talk about what they are doing without giving too much away. After Shepard's death, he talks about how he has moved onto a new project and is bringing a hero back to life. Elia didn't reply, because Binthu had already been destroyed. He eventually heard about Shepard's raid on the facility she was working in and he became concerned that he hadn't heard from her since the attack. He sent a few emails asking if she was okay, each becoming more and more written with distress. He tells her where he is. The co-ordinates for the ship the Lazarus project was housed aboard. The last message says he will avenge her death and Shepard would not be revived and allowed to kill more people. He expresses his hate for his boss Miranda and asks her once more to come to him if she is alive."

"Looks like Wilson failed. Do you know if the Lazarus project is still there?"

"No, but it can't hurt to check it out. Billions of creds went into this project. Whatever the illusive man's plans are for Shepard, they must be very important."

"Let's go and see what Elia has to say." Anderson walked out the door. Léon followed, a little unsure of his role in the plans ahead. Anderson had a car waiting outside, and they jumped in.

They found Elia sat in a chair by James' bed, leaning in looking distressed, which is exactly how they'd both pictured the scene before arriving. James' had woken up, but was struggling to stay that way.

"The nurse said he's been dropping in and out of consciousness for just over a day now." Ash informed them. "He's not talking much."

"Elia." Anderson said softly as he walked up beside her and knelt down. "I know this is hard, but we need some answers, if you are feeling up to it."

"I understand, of course. I'm okay. He'll get better, right?" She asked, looking for someone to reassure her.

"He's strong." Ash said.

Elia gave a weak smile. "Where do I start?"

"How about with what you found out that forced you to run?" Ash asked.

"I ran because they found out I was sending emails. I was caught sending information, but I'd covered my tracks well and they couldn't figure out where I'd sent them. "

"The emails we got from Binthu?"

"Right. Me and James modified the computer in the panic room and set it up on a separate server. That way we could talk with the outside world with little risk of Cerberus finding out."

"You didn't like Cerberus?"

"At the time, we believed in what we were doing, but they were strict. We wanted to talk to our families but all outgoing communication was forbidden."

"Is there anything you can tell us that wasn't in the emails we already have?" Ash was trying to keep her cool but still sounded frustrated. If there was nothing new, then rescuing Elia had accomplished nothing in terms of tracking down Cerberus.

"The last email is missing. I didn't get chance to send it. It was about using new technology on humans. They had plans to use reaper technology that they planned on Shepard obtaining for them."

"That doesn't sound good." Ash commented angrily, looking at Anderson. "They're using the skipper! While Shepard is trying to save the colonists, he's picking up tech for the Cerberus. I told him Cerberus can't be trusted!"

"Hold on, Chief. We don't know what is happening yet." Léon tried to calm her down.

"We have to find Shepard. We have to stop him from giving technology to those terrorists!" She turned back to Elia. "Where are they working on the new tech?"

"I don't know. It was just a conversation I overheard. The boss was talking to someone on a holocom, they didn't realize I was in the room."

"Damn!" Ash raised her hand to her forehead as if she was getting a headache.

"Calm down. We have one other lead, Chief." Anderson reassured. "We have a possible position on the Lazarus project, the place where Shepard was revived. Maybe we can find some more clues there."

"We need to find Shepard! We have to-"

"We don't even know where to look." Léon interrupted.

"I'm sorry I wasn't any help. You saved me, I wish I could do more" Elia apologized. She looked distressed.

"You did more than enough." Anderson told her. "The emails we already have a great help. We knew it was a long shot when we followed your co-ordinates."

"Hopefully the Lazarus project will provide a few clues." Léon added.

"We can't just, Shepard, what are we going to do about him?

"Williams, we have no idea where he is. We just have to trust that he will do the right thing and keep the technology out of Cerberus' hands."

Ash sighed. _I know they're right. But I just can't stand the thought of my skipper helping terrorists. _

"I'll go make preparations for a mission to Lazarus."

"What about me?" Léon asked.

"We still need to keep this quiet. Cerberus followed you to Watson. We can't afford that kind of mistake again. This time, we'll simply have to take a ship and go. We can deal the problems it'll cause later."

"C-Sec will try and disable any ship that launches without permission. I can get in and clear you for takeoff. Won't take them long to realize that a ship has been stolen but will give you enough time to get away."

"If you do that, you'll be arrested."

"I know it's likely, but there isn't much choice. I know C-Sec, I'm the logical choice. And I've done everything I can here. We're no closer to the illusive man. That path has come to an end. It's up to you guys to stop Cerberus getting that technology."

Anderson nodded. "Stay on comms, we'll find a suitable ship."

"You're coming, Captain?"

"We have to keep this quiet. Léon has his job to do, so you will need help."

The three started to make their way out of the door. Elia called after them.

"I want to come. I can help."

"You heard the doctor, you need to rest." Ash said.

"I'm okay." Elia insisted. "I know Cerberus protocols. I can help."

Ash walked closer and knelt down next to her. "You should stay with James."

"Shepard saved my life on Elysium. Now I have a chance to help him in return. Please."

Ash paused. "Captain?"

"It will be risky. We can't afford to have anyone slowing us down. James needs you."

"James will be okay. I can't do anything here. But I can make a difference with you guys. I'll stay on the ship until its safe. You have to let me help!" Elia pleaded.

"I guess, if she stays on the ship?" Ash asked the Councilor. "And she might be safer with us, if Cerberus is still looking for her."

"I guess an extra pair of hands won't hurt. Okay, let's get going."

Ash offered a hand to Elia, but she didn't take it. She stood up on her own strength, trying to show she wouldn't be a burden. The four of them left the clinic and got into the car Anderson and Léon had travelled in.

"Léon?" Ash asked as the Anderson pulled the car into the flow of traffic. "If you aren't with the Alliance or C-Sec, who sent you to investigate Cerberus?"

"Admiral Kahoku. Just before he was taken. I helped him with finding out the information on who killed his men."

Elia looked distressed, but didn't say anything.

"Cerberus killed Kahoku, why not you?" Ash questioned.

"Kahoku made too much noise, made a lot of mistakes. I'm not an easy man to track. Cerberus must have thought that whatever I was doing was done by him. After Kahoku was killed, I vowed to track down the illusive man. I asked a Shadow Broker agent and asked for help to track down Cerberus. The information cost me my life savings, but I was able to track them down. I gave them a data stick with information I had on them, and told them I wanted to help them. Took a bit of effort, but eventually I was given work."

"We'll find him. He can't hide forever." Ash said with conviction.

Anderson pulled the car over outside C-Sec. "We're heading up to the docks. Lay low and keep in contact."

Léon nodded as the three went inside. Nobody questioned the councilor and his team as they entered the elevator and travelled up to the military docks.

"We're in the elevator." Anderson said over comm. Léon didn't respond.

"I hope he comes through." Ash said. She was nervous but he done a lot to gain some trust back. Enough to go along with this plan.

The elevator opened and Anderson quickly spotted a suitable frigate, the Blenheim. The Councilor questioned a mechanic working on it outside and found it was space worthy and that there was a small Alliance crew including the pilot inside. The trio entered the ship and the decontamination chamber got to work.

"The Blenheim, Léon. Dock 6 Bay 4-B."

"Got it." Came the reply.

As the decontamination finished, the inside doors opened and the Blenheim's captain stood ready in the door way with 2 armed crew members.

"Councilor Anderson, Sir. We weren't expecting you."

"We need to take your ship on an urgent mission. You are to remove your crew except the pilot and report to Alliance command or new orders."

"We weren't told of this-"

"That's an order, Captain."

The Blenheim's crew paused. They knew something was up. This certainly wasn't the way to do things; the councilor had no authority to just take his ship. But this was Anderson. They respected him. He was a hero.

"Alright." The captain said after a few tense seconds. "But if anyone asks, you removed us by force."

"Fine by me." Anderson said as the Captain gathered his crew and left the ship. Anderson and his team entered the cockpit and explained to the pilot what was happening.

"Whatever you say, Sir." The pilot replied flatly. He was excited about working with such a man, even if he chose not to show it.

The four of them waited. After a few minutes, Léon's voice sounded over the comms.

"It's done. You won't have long so get going. I'm going to try and get out of here. Good luck."

"Good work." Anderson replied.

"Let's go!" Ash encouraged the pilot.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it!" He replied.

The ship backed out of the docks and turned, maneuvering out of the docks towards open space.

"We got a destination?" The pilot asked. Anderson gave him the co-ordinates.

"This is top secret, alright? No talking to anyone." Ash told him.

"Got it. Alright, here we go!" He said as he engaged the FTL drives and sped off towards the mass relay.


End file.
